The Skinny Scotland September 2013 Issue 96 by The Skinny

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INDEPENDENT FREE

CULT U R A L

J O U R N A L I S M

Scotland Issue 96 September 2013

Music Factory Floor Human Is Not Alone Oneohtrix Point Never Jason Newsted 65daysofstatic RM Hubbert Ministry Jesu

“We're not in the business of writing chirpy pop songs”

CHVRCHES SHOW THEIR BONES

Film Scotland Loves Anime Irvine Welsh & James McAvoy Take One Action Jeanie Finlay & The Great Hip Hop Hoax Art 2|1|4|1 Collective Artpistol Books Adam Marek Paradigm Shift: The Future of Books Canongate's Future 40 Clubs DJ Cassy Ambivalent Fashion Vanilla Ink Theatre Autumn Programme

a very special festival celebrating Americana music in Glasgow

plus special guest RODDY

HART

Sat 28th Sept O2 ABC glasgow

THE MILK BARR BROTHERS CARTON KIDS Siobhan Wilson

Wed 4th September

GLASGOW Oran Mor

WED 4 SEPT

Glasgow Nice n Sleazy

the be good tanyas PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS

THUR 5TH SEPT

O2 ABC GLASGOW

JIM WHITE P.36 Canongate Future 40

PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS

THU 12 SEPT O2 ABC2 GLASGOW

JOHNNY REID

P.12 Factory Floor

Mon 16 Sept glasgow Oran Mor

ETHAN ZERVAS S & PEPPER JOHN SPECIAL GUESTS AND

PLUS

plus special guests

Trevor Moss & Hannah Lou

Fri 20 Sept Glasgow Oran Mor Sat 21 Sept Edinburgh Voodoo Rooms

Fri 27 Sept O2 ABC2 GLASGOW

CHA RLOTTE PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS

thur 12th sept Edinburgh Queen’s Hall

P.17 Salma, Take One Action

CHURCH

SUN 22ND SEPT

G L ASGOW ORAN MOR

& THE RED CLAY HALO

(Nouvelle Vague)

plus Chris T-T

Sat 28th Sept

EDINBURGH Voodoo Rooms

hem by arrangement with Coda Music Agency

plus special guests

- ROOM FOR LIGHT TOUR -

THURSDAY 24TH OCTOBER

+ special guests

CULTU R AL

JOU R NALI S M

Get in touch: E: hello@theskinny.co.uk T: 0131 467 4630 P: The Skinny, 3 Coates Place, Edinburgh, EH3 7AA

Sun 13th Oct

GLASGOW Oran Mor

I N DEPEN DENT

Issue 96, September 2013 © Radge Media Ltd.

FRIDAY 25 OCTOBER

GLASGOW NICE N SLEAZY

SEPTEMBER 2013

plus

EMILY BARKER

GLASGOW ORAN MOR

The Skinny is Scotland's largest independent entertainment & listings magazine, and offers a wide range of advertising packages and affordable ways to promote your business. Get in touch to find out more.

E: sales@theskinny.co.uk All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without the explicit permission of the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within this publication do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the printer or the publisher.

Printed by Mortons Print Limited, Horncastle ABC verified Jan – Dec 2012: 32,090

Friday 18th October 2013

The Garage (G2)

GLASGOW Stereo

0844 844 0444 www.ticketmaster.co.uk

regularmusic.com 4

Contents

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

regularmusicltd

Editorial Editor-in-Chief Music & Deputy Editor Art Editor Books Editor Clubs Editor Comedy Editors Deviance Editor Events Editor Fashion Editor Film & DVD Editor Food Editor Travel Editor Theatre Editor Staff Writer / Sub Editor

Rosamund West Dave Kerr Jac Mantle Ryan Rushton Ronan Martin Bernard O’Leary Vonny Moyes Ana Hine Anna Docherty Alexandra Fiddes Jamie Dunn Peter Simpson Paul Mitchell Eric Karoulla Bram E. Gieben

Production Production Manager Lead Designer

Billie Dryden Maeve Redmond

Sales Sales Director Sales Executive

Sat 26th October

GLASGOW

P.71 Ministry

printed on 100% recycled paper

Lara Moloney Eddie Chung Tom McCarthy George Sully

Company PA

Kyla Hall

Publisher

Sophie Kyle

regularmusicuk THE SKINNY

Photo: Georgia Kuhn

plus special guests

Photo: Alasdair Brotherston and Jack Mooney

by arrangement with Coda Music Agency

THE

Contents 06 Chat & Opinion: Sabbath legend Bill

Lifestyle

Ward salutes the drummer who inspired him, Gene Krupa; Shot of the Month; Skinny on Tour; departed Comedy ed Bernard O'Leary assesses the rise of feminist comedy; Crystal Baws; Stop the Presses; Online Only.

Showcase: Canongate present The Future 40, a list of the best contemporary Scottish storytellers across the artistic and technological disciplines who will be making waves in the next four decades.

08 Heads Up guides you gently through the

Fashion: Dundee's Vanilla Ink jewellery design collective prepare for their End of Year Show.

Travel: A closer look at travelling as a couple – a rollercoaster of irritation and rage. With added love and support.

Deviance: What is bi-gender? We'll tell you. Plus what it's like living with a fetishist.

Food & Drink: An interview with new Edinburgh brewery Pilot, plus Phagomania makes a calzone and tries to pretend it's a new Mexican invention.

cultural goings on of September with a recommended daily event.

Features 10

Glasgow synth pop trio CHVRCHES do some myth-busting on the eve of their much-anticipated debut album's release. Factory Floor: Nothing says September like an experimental band composed of one woman and two beardy men who look utterly miserable. Human is Not Alone: Laeto drummer Robbie Cooper on his battle with cancer, and an upcoming trio of fundraising gigs for Marie Curie.

Review 47

Music: A peak inside Jason Newsted's record collection, a word with Jesu mastermind Justin K Broadrick, and a comprehensive guide to the month's releases.

Clubs: Your one-stop guide to a month of hedonism (careful now), plus we have words with local boy done good, Ambivalent.

Giving you plenty of time to book your tickets, a guide to the many highs of 2013's Scotland Loves Anime film festival.

As the film adaptation launches in a cinema near you, we talk to Filth author Irvine Welsh and star James McAvoy.

Take One Action film festival is back and ready to spur us into world-changing action with a season of politically engaged, globally aware cinema.

Film: David Lowery’s atmospheric drama Ain’t Them Bodies Saints marks the arrival of an exciting new voice in American cinema.

Oneohtrix Point Never: Experimental electronic wizard Daniel Lopatin on his ground-breaking debut for Warp, and 'object-oriented ontology.'

DVD: Some classics (Plein Soleil, House of Usher, Time Bandits), a lost gem (Ikarie XB-1), and an absolute stinker from the bloke who made The Godfather (Twixt).

We offer a swatch at the highlights of Scotland's autumn theatre season.

Adam Marek: The Frank O'Connor Awardnominated short story writer discusses his heart-wrenching, dystopian new collection, The Stone Thrower.

New Glasgow art collective 2|1|4|1 tell us how they're planning on eradicating the post art school slump.

Art: Reviews of A Conspiracy of Detail at the Mackintosh Museum, and Jeremy Deller at Jupiter Artland.

Books: In its ongoing bid to take over the magazine, Books gets a full page of reviews.

26 65daysofstatic: Combining epic post-

rock and power electronics, these sonic star travellers unpack their influences and inspirations in advance of their latest album's release.

Paradigm Shift: Now Turn the Page – In our final dispatch looking at the future of the creative industries we turn our attention to the destiny of the book publishing industry.

30 DJ Cassy can't be pinned down. She tells

us about life as a globe-trotting DJ ahead of her appearance at SWG3.

RM Hubbert: SAY Award-winner and guitar virtuoso Hubby tells all about his heartfelt new album, and his first forays into writing lyrics. Jeanie Finlay spills the beans on The Great Hip Hop Hoax, her documentary about phoney Dundonian hip-hop duo Silibil N' Brains.

September 2013

Theatre: Reviews from the Fringe plus a look forward to David Greig's Dunsinane, touring the country this month, and a brace of Dostoyevsky productions at the Citz. Comedy: Ellis and Rose tell us about their Fringe propaganda win of committing GBH. Competitions: A veritable bonanza of prizes, offering you a chance to win a luxury trip to Sonica, tickets for Live_ Transmission at the Usher Hall, Scotland Loves Anime passes plus Japanese goodies, and tickets to THAT Festival up in Stirling. Listings: What's on in Music, Clubs, Theatre, Comedy and Art in September in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee.

Outback 71

Ministry: The greatest industrial band in history return – we speak to the legend that is Al Jourgensen.

Contents

Editorial

Hero Worship: Gene Krupa

Black Sabbath’s Bill Ward, the original heavy metal drummer, salutes the profound influence of jazz percussionist Gene Krupa

aaaaaand breathe. Edinburgh residents will recognise the sigh of relief and sense of achievement that comes with having survived another August. I am aware that even by the standards of First World Problems, complaining about this is utterly despicable. I remain unapologetic – thank the lord it’s September. Autumn kicks off with a slew of hotly anticipated musical releases, spearheaded by muchhyped Weegie electropop trio and our cover stars CHVRCHES. Their debut The Bones of What You Believe arrives at the end of the month and they kindly offer some insights into their meteoric rise and the experience of evolving their stagecraft while already in the public eye. Music continues with Factory Floor, cover stars in our Northwest edition, similarly just about to release their hotly anticipated debut, similarly composed of one girl and two guys with a relaxed approach to shaving. Is this the new thing? Only time will tell. We also catch up with Laeto drummer Robbie Cooper to hear about Human Is Not Alone, a new project featuring gigs, an album and the cream of the Scottish underground united to raise money for cancer research. Other stars quizzed in our autumn music bounty include Brooklyn prodigy Daniel Lopatin, aka Oneohtrix Point Never; the inscrutably-named 65daysofstatic (is it a Hitler quote? Is it?); SAY award-winner RM Hubbert, who’s already unleashing a new album; musical pioneer Justin K. Broadrick who discusses main project Jesu; Metallica legend Jason Newsted, who reveals which albums truly shaped him; and Ministry’s Al Jourgensen, on fine and drunken form sharing some eye watering tales from life on tour. Books is also on fine form this month, hosting an interview with scribe Adam Marek, and unveiling Canongate’s Future 40, a list of the most vibrant contemporary storytellers Scotland has

to offer across all creative disciplines. The list celebrates the publisher’s fortieth birthday and demonstrates their decision to look forward into a world of cross disciplinary collaboration, rather than back at their four decades of notable achievements in print. The list’s nominators were a stellar cast of experts in their fields from the Scottish creative communities and, er, a few of us from The Skinny so it will DEFINITELY be on the money, OK? We also present the concluding part of Staff Writer Bram’s investigation into the future of publishing across the genres, concluding with a look at the massive paradigm shifts going on in the world of literature. We do indeed live in interesting times. Film has a banner issue, snagging some time with Irvine Welsh to discuss the film adaptation of Filth AND getting some chat from star James McAvoy on the matter. The traditional autumn film festival pile up (cause unknown) begins this month, and we look forward to getting our global awarenesses prodded at Take One Action festival, before being allowed to escape into a magical animated world at Scotland Loves Anime. We speak to director Jennie Finlay about documentary The Great Hip Hop Hoax which reveals how a couple of Dundonians inexplicably managed to masquerade as West Coast American rap stars. Much more, naturally, happens besides in Art, Clubs, Fashion, Food (bravely reinventing the calzone), Deviance, Theatre, Comedy and Travel. Keep an eye out too for our Student Handbook this month, as it contains some hilarious insights into life in our various cities, plus six whole pages of impeccably shot photography featuring a Jackhuahua (half Jack Russell, half Chihuahua) in a variety of outfits. You’ll be able to spot it easily – it says The Skinny and has a picture of a dog in a houndstooth jumper yawning on the front. A-dorable. [Rosamund West]

f all my heroes, I’d have to go with a drummer – the guy who was my biggest inspiration. And that was Gene Krupa. He played big band swing, which I’ve been attracted to since I was a child. My mother and father had records where he’d play with different bands and players that came over during World War 2, so I owe it to them really. Picking up his cues from ragtime and the Jazz Age that came before in the 1920s and 30s, Gene’s playing was rich and quite unique. There was a certain power there and he had a lot of be-bop about him, he was an innovator of new rhythms which were stepping stones into what would be defined as rock’n’roll in years to come, into the early 50s. But Gene was also a troubled man, he was addicted to narcotics. I too have travelled that kind of a journey, so I feel like I’m in a parallel world. He had a lot of hardship but continued to play and work his way through it. Although I saw him in the movies or when he was doing a spot on TV, sadly I never met him. I often felt that I had, in that rare way when you hear somebody play a certain piece of music, it’s as if you’ve known them all your life. To the student drummers out

there, I’d recommend you listen to Gene Krupa. He’s a good start. He was leading the way. Read our exclusive new interview with Bill Ward where he discusses life beyond Sabbath at www.theskinny.co.uk/music

This Month's Cover: Eoin Carey This month's cover photo was shot by Eoin Carey. Eoin is an Edinburgh based photographer and Corkman (see trousers). He works throughout the UK for Performing Arts, Festival, Commercial and Editorial clients. He is exhibiting as part of The Photographers Collective annual showcase Collection 3 at Out of The Blue, Dalmeny Street from 10 October. www.eoincareyphoto.com

Shot Of The Month Thundercat at The Poetry Club, 24 Aug by Ross Gilmore

The Skinny On Tour

hen we were told the location of this month’s Skinny on Tour we said, “Struth, mate! That’s not much of a tour. It’s barely a half hour drive up the M90 from our office!” This city’s not in the UK, though, but plenty of our dodgy ancestors were shipped off to its namesake to do porridge. Can you guess where it is yet? For your chance to win The Novel Cure by Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin (courtesy of those

Chat

lovely folks over at Canongate), just head along to www.theskinny.co.uk/about/competitions and tell us where you think this shifty looking Skinny reader is holidaying. Competition closes midnight 29 Sep. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within one week or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Full T&Cs can be found at www.theskinny.co.uk/about/terms

THE SKINNY

Crystal Baws With Mystic Mark ARIES All those hours under a microscope carving your CV in tiny hieroglyphs onto chicken beaks comes to nothing. Not a single employer even bothers to reply. You start to wonder what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing wrong.

TAURUS According to your doctor that gaping hole in your face is called a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;mouthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

GEMINI Wary of your allergies, you check the back of a tin of beans to find it reads â&#x20AC;&#x153;May contain traces of AIDSâ&#x20AC;?.

CANCER Next time you wake up with hideous memories of the drunken bullshit you spouted, send your friends an apologetic text in the morning rather than having a robotic terminator travel back in time to kill your mother and prevent you from ever being born.

LEO To save on condom costs you simply have your penis laminated in a searingly hot lamination press.

So this Feminist Walks into a Bar... Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an old joke that goes: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;How many feminists does it take to change a lightbulb? THATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NOT FUNNY.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

reviously, feminism has been written off as fundamentally humourless â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2013 is the year that officially changed. The winner of this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fosterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Comedy Award, Bridget Christie, is not only a woman (which in itself was long overdue) but one doing a show about feminism. And she wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the only one, with venuemates at The Stand, Mary Bourke and Nadia Kamil, doing shows about gender issues too. Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more, all three shows were damn funny. So whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going on? Our social dialogue has changed and the way we think about feminism has too, becoming a common part of daily life for many. Christieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s show, A Bic for Her, takes its title from an ill-advised range of ladiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; pens, the Amazon listing for which was subject to a lengthy, worldwide, hilarious reviewbombing. It was feminist activism that made us giggle. Comedy requires some degree of familiarity to work, which is why most standup is still observational. Since feminist ideas are becoming increasingly familiar, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more room for comics to toy around with their funny sides. Though, whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really caused things to shift is we have a much bigger crop of female comedians than ever before. Personally, the majority of Fringe shows Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve

Words: Bernard Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Leary

loved in the last few years have been by women, and I think thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a reason for this. Male comedians have something of a career path laid out for them: sculpt your hair, struggle into skinny jeans, make bland observations about banter with your mates, and soon youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll hear the panel shows calling. Many resist, but the lure is strong, so those who were mediocre to begin with feel destiny calling. While this has been going on, as well as years of nonsensical â&#x20AC;&#x153;are women funny?â&#x20AC;? debates in the media, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been continually overlooked. There are female mediocre comedians, but they drop out because they have nowhere to go. The ones who stick around are those who really believe in what theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing, like the gloriously surreal Bridget Christie, whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been slowly building up her audience for years. It can lead to explosively original, funny shows, like this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Panel Prize winner Adrienne Truscott, who skewers rape culture while naked from the waist down. Her brilliant, daring show has a real substance, is absolutely hilarious (you havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t lived until youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve seen a woman impersonating Travis Bickle with her vagina) and all in, was probably the best thing at the Fringe. In fact, the only weakness was that her

targets â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Daniel Tosh and various Republicans â&#x20AC;&#x201C; have all been discussed to death. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how much a part of our culture feminism has become. Elsewhere, there were women unapologetically talking openly about themselves. Nat Luurtsema told some very frank stories about sex, while Juliette Burtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heartbreaking, sweet show discussed the eating disorder that almost killed her. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sad then, that much of the Fringe gossip was dominated by a spat between two women, with Scotsman critic Kate Copstick telling Sarah Millican to â&#x20AC;&#x153;go away, lose some weight and come back when youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re funny.â&#x20AC;? Copstick defended herself with that remark which has begun many a sexual harrassment tribunal â&#x20AC;&#x201C; â&#x20AC;&#x153;what, canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t I make a joke now?â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but the damage was done and the court of public opinion was happy to call bullshit, leaving the veteran critic occupying the same territory as Jim Davidson and other relics of fondly-forgotten eras. This illustrates why comedy and feminism have finally found a way to work together; almost as much as the great shows above. Feminism is about exposing ridiculous ingrained conventions, weak ideas, lousy attitudes and lazy sterotypes â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also exactly what comedy is supposed to do, too.

proposals for contributions of music, film, poetry, visual art and theatre to feature in its next groundbreaking pop-up arts festival in Edinburgh's Market Street Vaults, from 8-16 March 2014. There are a wide range of options for taking part â&#x20AC;&#x201C; all creative submissions will be considered. Head along to www.hiddendoorblog. org for submission forms and more info. Deadline is 30 September.

Saturday, meanwhile, sees the live return of the ever dependable Vaselines, our January cover star Rick Redbeard, Adam Stafford, multi-instrumentalist chanteuse Ela Orleans, and from the south, Alexander Tucker and Daniel Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Sullivan resurrect their transcendental psych pop project, Grumbling Fur. See www.platform-online. co.uk for tickets.

VIRGO As a chemistry teacher with lung cancer and no way to pay the medical bills, you find your only option is to take out a massive loan in your wifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name, burdening her for decades after your death.

SCORPIO If you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t finger-bang the one you love, finger-bang the one youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re with.

SAGITTARIUS This month you finally give your heart to the person you love, throwing it through their bedroom window attached to a brick. CAPRICORN Grappling with sanity, your psychiatrist suggests itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about time you moved out of that hall of mirrors.

AQUARIUS Having recently invented the first economically viable means of commercial space flight so people can experience zero gravity in specially rented pods, you are aghast to find most punters merely use the service for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;space dogging.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Through your porthole window, floating scrotums, breasts and the majesty of the cosmos reflect off the weightless tears rolling all over your eyes.

PISCES You wake to find your entire life has been an elaborate screensaver.

September 2013

THE PLEASANCE SESSIONS COMETH â&#x20AC;&#x201C; over a fortnight of music, film, comedy and spoken word, uniting the cream of independent labels, promoters and performers from Scotland (and beyond!) is set to take place from 10-26 October. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re joining forces with the good people at Edinburgh Uni to present a showcase on 12 October, wherein The Phantom Band's venerable frontman Rick Redbeard marks a rare visit to the capital with selections from his rough-hewn solo debut No Selfish Heart. Joining him on the bill are Glaswegian garage rock duo Honeyblood, visceral Young Fathers affiliate LAW and rising chanteuse Siobhan Wilson. Amongst the many highlights to be found elsewhere, folk rock mavericks John Knox Sex Club make their long-awaited return to AuldFollow Reekie at Gerry Loves Records' showcase @FireballUK Like us on facebook.com/fireballofficialuk on 11 October, while alt.pop darlings Conquering Animal Sound represent Limboâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s multidisciplinary approach to live music on 20 October. Stay tuned for a word with some of the players next issue. Tickets can be bagged at www.eusa.ed.ac. uk/eusalive/ Untitled-3 1

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HIDDEN DOOR â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they who transformed the dear departed Roxy into a labyrinthine pop-up arts and music space â&#x20AC;&#x201C; are back and inviting

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REMEMBER THE FOOD SURVEY? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s back and better than before. We want to hear your opinions on where to get the best scran and bevvy in Scotland â&#x20AC;&#x201C; head along to tinyurl.com/foodsurveyscotland to have your voice heard. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re also surveying food and drink choices in Manchester and Liverpool if you have any strong views on that. The relevant form can be found at tinyurl.com/ foodsurveynorthwest. DEMOCRACY IN ACTION.

THE SKINNY STUDENT HANDBOOK 2013 is unleashed on the streets this month. Featuring exhaustive and hilarious information on how to be a student in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee, the Student Handbook is your essential guide to starting life in a new city. Now includes 40% dog. THE SKINNY STUDENT HANDBOOK 2013-2014

LIBRA Your Tory lover takes your â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Friends with Benefitsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; relationship a bit too seriously, making you fill out forms to prove youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve actively been seeking and/or have been available for sex each week. Your lover reminds you that you could lose your Friends with Benefits status for up to 13 weeks if you: leave a sex act voluntarily; fail to take part in a mandatory sex act; fail to produce a completed sex diary when asked.

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FILMMAKERS AND ANIMATORS WANTED Guess what?! The Skinny is developing its digital presence, starting with more video. We're currently on the lookout for talented videographers, filmmakers, animators, sound recordists and crew to work on creative video content at The Skinny. There will be a range of work from voluntary to paid positions, so those at all levels of their career are encouraged to get in touch. If you're interested in being involved and you've got ideas (and relevant skills) we want to hear from you. Please contact peter.marsden@theskinny. co.uk with a short intro and a link to some work.

ONLINE ONLY

STUDENT HANDBOOK

23/08/2013 17:06

EASTERN PROMISE makes its return to Easterhouseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Platform venue with another carefully curated bill of contemporary folk on 4-5 October. Fence Collective OG James Yorkston joins Alasdair Roberts on Friday night, alongside Michael Gira protĂŠgĂŠ James Blackshaw, Glasgowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own Trembling Bells (with The Incredible String Bandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mike Heron) and this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cannes soundtrack award winner Jozef Van Wissem.

n an exclusive interview, Black Sabbathâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bill Ward holds court on the year from hell and his new art project, Absence of Corners: A Collection of Rhythm on Canvas. It would appear that September has officially become the biggest month of the year for album releases. In an effort to give you the full picture, we offer our tuppence on a few (dozen) we couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t quite squeeze in the paper at (www.theskinny.co.uk/music), from the return of Nine Inch Nails to the coming together of electronic musicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finest minds for Ultraistaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s collected remix works. Everything you ever wanted to know about the cultural scenes of Manchester and Liverpool in the month of September â&#x20AC;&#x201C; our Northwest edition content is all online, this month featuring exclusive interviews with Aiden Gillen, Seth Troxler and Hookworms, and much more besides.

Chat

Compiled by: Anna Docherty

After the excitement that was August (thanks Edinburgh!), September brings with it an autumn-welcoming mix – including the now-annual Music Language fest; Canongate 40's official unveiling; Ian Rankin's first foray into stage; and musical turns from the likes of Neon Neon, Fuck Buttons, and RM Hubbert...

Wed 4 Sep

No Mean City Festival (y'know, the eclectic annual celebration of everything that could possibly be squeezed under the term 'Americana') plays host to a set from Virginia's own tragic hero, Mark 'E' Everett, and his Eels bandmates – still riding high on their early 2013 release, Wonderful, Glorious, having survived their 54-show tour earlier in the year. O2 ABC, Glasgow, 7pm, £23.50

Leading young Scottish playwright David Greig finally gives his epic threein-one piece, Victoria, its Scottish debut at Dundee Rep, charting the story of three generations of rich and poor in the Scottish Highlands, set in 1936, 1976 and 1996 – with each part centred around a woman named 'Victoria', who may or may not be one and the same. Dundee Rep, Dundee, 4-21 Sep, £10

The Eels

Photo: John Lewis

Heads Up

Tue 3 Sep

Rehearsals for Victoria

Sun 8 Sep

Mon 9 Sep

Tue 10 Sep

Myriad musicians pitch up for a one-off musical adventure – September Synthesis Festival – where the likes of Fiona Soe Paing, (a is to b), Deathwank, Texture, and Word or Object will travel the gamut of noise through ambient, dark electro, and progressive, right through to grindcore, power-violence, and harsh noise. And the poster's got a kitten on it, so we're officially sold. 13th Note, Glasgow, 3pm, £5

To coincide with their interactive exhibition of self portraits, Ego, the RSA open the floor to Scottish contemporary figurative painter Alan McGowan for the day – who'll be on-site creating a self portrait inspired by the exhibition. Punters can watch McGowan in action, whilst being encouraged to leave their own comments/ doodles/daydreams on the works. RSA, Edinburgh 10am-4pm, Free

Having definitely not offended anyone when we emblazoned 'Fuck Buttons' on our cover a few years back, ahem, this month the Bristol electro-noise duo – made up of Andrew Hung and Benjamin Jon Power – are on the road showcasing their third and darkest album yet, Slow Focus, playing what's set to be a suitably epic outing in the murky warehouse surrounds of SWG3. SWG3, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £12.50

Texture

Alan McGowan

Sat 14 Sep

Sun 15 Sep

Mon 16 Sep

Annual(ish) micro-festival, Nilk, returns to Dundee University's Botanic Gardens to wreak some havoc, with Silk Cut and Ultimate Thrush psych-groove collab, Golden Teacher, and Denmark's Stefan Blomeier and Claire – who together merge sequencer work with flurries of drum machine and synth sweeps – amongst the guests. Dundee University Botanic Gardens, Dundee, 3pm, £6 adv. (£8 door)

Encouraging thought in an open and creative atmosphere, Only Wolves and Lions bring their interactive performance piece to Summerhall, where over the course of the evening they'll explore ideas of community, isolation, and the meaning of the word crisis, with attendees asked to bring a raw ingredient and join the cook-eat-chat flow o' the thing. Summerhall, Edinburgh, 13-15 Sep, various times, £15 (£10)

No recording could ever quite compare to seeing French duo turned trio Zombie Zombie do their thing live, with their 70sinspired electro-horror pop taking audiences on a distinctly cinematic tour of analogue synths allied with contemporary technology, brass, and live percussion – wearing their admiration for the great horror soundtracks of John Carpenter on their sleeve. Mono, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £8.50

Golden Teacher

Only Wolves and Lions

Fuck Buttons

Zombie Zomie

Sat 21 Sep

Following their open call to arms for the nation's leading movers and shakers to nominate their favourite young writers, Canongate take to a party setting to reveal their official Canongate 40 – in celebration of their 40th birthday – joined on the night by such luminaries as writer Alasdair Gray, musicians Aidan Moffat and Rick Redbeard, and performance poet Kate Tempest. The Jam House, Edinburgh, 7pm, £10

Laeto drummer Robbie Cooper brings his DIY fundraiser project, Human Is Not Alone, to a trio of Scottish venues – where the full-throated rallying calls of Fat Goth, United Fruit, Hey Enemy, and Vasquez will unite to mark the arrival of a special charity compilation LP. All profits go to The Marie Curie Trust. Electric Circus, Edinburgh (19th), Stereo, Glasgow (20th), Non-Zeros, Dundee (21st), 7.30pm, £6

The apocalypse that is 2.8 Hours Later lands in Edinburgh for the first time, taking to a secret location where you'll be tasked with seeking out survivors and uncovering the location of the asylum (aka safety from the blood-thirsty zombies gnashing at your un-undead heels). Ticket price includes entry to the Zombie Disco after party. Obviously. Secret location, Edinburgh, 21 & 22 Sep, various times, £30

Rick Redbeard

Fat Goth

Photo: Beth Chalmers

Fri 20 Sep

Photo: David P Scott

Thu 19 Sep

2.8 Hours Later

Wed 25 Sep

Thu 26 Sep

Fri 27 Sep

Sat 28 Sep

Celecbrated crime writer and Rebus creator Ian Rankin kicks off The Lyceum's new thriller series with Dark Road – a newly commissioned work (written with The Lyceum's Artistic Director Mark Thomson) that marks Rankin's first foray into stage. In it, a retired detective revisits a case, and a killer, that's haunted her for the past 25 years. Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh 25 Sep-19 Oct, From £14

As a closing highlight of Glasgow School of Art's 2013 Degree Show run, the MDes Fashion and Textiles students take to a promenade setting – giving attendees a first view of the textile designs, silhouettes, and colour palettes created by the latest crop of talented young pups to emerge butterfly-like from the GSA's nurturing surrounds. The Lighthouse, Glasgow, 7pm, 8pm & 9pm, £10

Offering a powerful reminder of the part cinema can play in people's fight for freedom and equality across the globe, Take One Action kicks off its sixth year with a screening of Fire in the Blood – the impassioned story of the activists who fought to stop Western companies and governments from blocking access to HIV medicines in the developing world. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, 5.45pm, £8.20 (£6)

Edinburgh Doors Open Day once again offers nosey buggers the chance to explore the nooks of various venues they wouldn't usually be allowed to access – with highlights being a behind-the-scenes tour of Edinburgh Printmakers, and the now obligatory ogle at the pickled body parts in Surgeons' Hall. Glasgow Doors Open Day is 21 & 22 Sep. Various venues, Edinburgh, 28 & 29 Sep, mostly free

Ian Rankin

Chat

Stephanie McAvoy, design

Fire in the Blood

Edinburgh Printmakers

THE SKINNY

Fri 6 Sep

Sat 7 Sep

Bright new artist-led collective, 2|1|4|1, host their first Annual Members' Show – featuring work from a 14-strong line-up including Skinny Award-winner Alex Millar and a quartet of RSA New Contempories’ alumni. And, on suitably friendly form, they launch with an open-invite preview party – in gallery (6pm-9pm), then bevvy-heavy at The Poetry Club (9pm-2am). SWG3, Glasgow, 5-8 Sep, Free

DIY promoters Cry Parrot return for their third annual Music Language festival outing, for which the now obligatory David Shrigley-designed poster announces sets from a handpicked Scottish line-up including Bill Wells National Jazz Trio of Scotland, The Yawns, eagleowl, Ela Orleans, Wounded Knee, and, ooh, a good 30-odd more. See listings for full programme. Various venues, Glasgow, 6-8 Sep, £14

After a revamped run at Edinburgh Fringe, female-only playwright nurturers Stellar Quines bring The List Glasgow way – with Maureen Beattie again delivering a gem-like solo performance as an isolated woman in rural Quebec establishing order over chaos through obsessive list making, only for tragedy to occur when she neglects an item on her list. Tron Theatre, Glasgow, 7.45pm, £16 (£12)

Maureen Beattie

Wed 11 Sep

Thu 12 Sep

Fri 13 Sep

Following our chat with them for our April issue – where they ruminated on Italian communists, political pop, and 'extreme concerts' – Neon Neon (aka Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys and hip-hop producer Boom Bip) tour their sophomore LP, Praxis Makes Perfect, a synthesised delight dealing with the life and times of Italian communist sympathiser Giangiacomo Feltrinelli. Oran Mor, Glasgow, 7pm, £11

After an eventful summer of new sculptural installations and, er, a comedy dog show, Jupiter Artland draw the season to a close (they shut their doors for winter on 15 September) with the last of their pop-up woodland dining experiences – where a five course dinner is served up in the suitably grand Proposal Room, overlooking the Firth of Forth. Jupiter Artland, Edinburgh, 7pm, £40

Over a trio of nights, the Traverse play home to the Directing and Acting students of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland's MA Classical and Contemporary Text programme – showcasing specially-commissioned new work made with Rob Drummond, Catherine Grosvenor, and David Ireland, with a luckydip two of three plays performed each night. Traverse, Edinburgh, 8pm, £6 (£4)

Jupiter Artland

Neon Neon

Tue 17 Sep

Wed 18 Sep

Arches LIVE returns for 2013, taking in diverse new works from a selection of emergent talent – an opening highlight of which looks to be the all-new mini (like, 15 minutes mini) opera from emerging Glasgowbased company Opera Breve, One Day This Will Be Long Ago, to which the audience arrive mid-flow, as two voices attempt to untangle themselves from each other. The Arches, Glasgow, 17 & 18 Sep, various times, £8 (£6)

Favourited monthly gigin-a-club night, Milk – aka they of the free biscuits and all the milk-based cocktails you can tank without boaking – host a special freshers edition, Fresh Milk, teaming up with Glasgow's Badmouth Battles for a live freestyle rap battle. Beatboxing behemonths Bigg Taj and Spee69 take on warm-up duties, paving the way for a selection of handpicked pro rappers. Flat 0/1, Glasgow, 9pm, £4 (£3)

One Day This Will Be Long Ago

Rob Drummond

Bigg Taj and Spee69

Sun 22 Sep

Mon 23 Sep

Tue 24 Sep

As part of their screening schedule of classics of yesteryear, the GFT dig out David Lynch's Blue Velvet for a one-off return to the big screen – a creepfest that's been taking viewers on a wide-eyed wander into the seedy underworld of sleeping logging town, Lumberto, since 1986. It'll be introduced by artist Jack Vettriano, who'll discuss the film and his other inspirations. GFT, Glasgow, 5pm, £7.50 (£6)

Following the release of their remastered debut LP, Lovely, Coventry indie-powerpop quartet The Primitives take to the road to mark said LPs 25th anniversary with a series of live outings. Relishing being back on the stage, you can expect a sugary-sweet run through of likes of Thru' The Flowers and the infectiously bouncy Secrets. And, yes, that single (aka Crash). Electric Circus, Edinburgh, 7pm, £10

i Am residents Beta & Kappa spread their third birthday across the month, hosting a quartet of parties across Edinburgh (12 September) and Glasgow (10, 17 & 24 September), with this – the last of their Glasgow outings – marking the climax. For it, electronic duo Simian Mobile Disco dole out the gritty beats and muscular bass-lines. You do the dancing. Sub Club, Glasgow, 11pm, £10 (£8)

Blue Velvet

Photo: Eoin Carey

Bill Wells

Simian Mobile Disco

The Primitives

Mon 30 Sep

Tue 1 Oct

Crowned Scottish Album of the Year winner back in't June, instrumental guitar virtuoso RM Hubbert this month plays a series of gigs showcasing his follow up LP – the Glasgow airing of which finds him taking to the atmospheric 18th Century church surrounds of St Andrew's in the Square, ably supported by Aerogramme/Unwinding Hours chap, Craig B. St Andrew's in the Square, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £10

The comedic academics that make up the Bright Club take to The Stand after the flurry of excitement that was their 2nd birthday (July) and some special Fringe outings (August), again mixing laughs and learning – with the resident comics taking time out from the research field to fill your evening will all the puns their larger-than-average brains can muster. The Stand, Glasgow, 8.30pm, £5

Part live music, part visual art experiment, Live_ Transmission is the first of its kind – a unique audio-visual collaboration between electronic music pioneer Scanner, the e'er inventive Heritage Orchestra, and visual artist Matt Watkins, for which they'll dismantle the work of the mighty Joy Division, and then artfully reconstruct it, piece-byglorious-piece. Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 8pm, From £18

September 2013

RM Hubbert

Photo: Vito andreoni

Sun 29 Sep

Bright Club

Live_Transmission

Chat

Photo: Ricky Skinner

Alex Millar, Bust

Photo: Beth Chalmers

Thu 5 Sep

Feature

MUSIC

THE SKINNY

The Lovely Bones

CHVRCHES are a bona fide Scottish synth-pop phenomenon – as they prepare to release debut album The Bones Of What You Believe, we talk gear-packing Tetris, growing up in public, and expelling half-truths

o call CHVRCHES’ rise to fame meteoric is to underestimate – in an age of instant one-hit wonders, it might have seemed tempting to dismiss them on the basis of the hype that followed the internet-only release of Lies back in May last year. Now, as the band prepare to release their first album The Bones of What You Believe, coming off the back of an extensive bout of touring which saw them hone their sound and performance with gigs across Europe, the US and Asia, the world is finally going to be in a position to judge them on their merits. Happily, Bones is an incredible record – not only is it filled with the intelligent, pitch-perfect synth-pop of Lies and the singles that followed, it also features more abstract, reflective tracks, and sees the band experimenting with form, complex lyrical acrobatics, and a wealth of retro-futuristic synth sounds. Far from the know-it-all hipsters or manufactured mainstream-baiting A&R wet dream which some sections of the press and the Scottish music scene have painted them to be, in person Iain Cook, Martin Doherty and Lauren Mayberry are incredibly warm, witty and downto-earth – the viral spread of their fame has not affected them, and they remain grounded and incredibly passionate about the music they make. Mayberry is quick to underline the fact that although the scale of their touring retinue has increased, this is hardly new territory for any of them. Mayberry plays in another band, Blue Sky Archives, while Cook (a former member of Aerogramme) plays with The Unwinding Hours, and Doherty was the touring keyboardist with The Twilight Sad. “I think we would feel a lot more like fish out of water if this was the first band any of us had ever been in,” says Mayberry, “but we all have an understanding of what it’s like to tour and play shows.” Mayberry speaks of learning “boring stuff like balancing a tour budget,” while Doherty reflects that the experience of playing halfattended shows and making no money from it “never leaves you.” But, he says, it is “a learning experience. Although to a certain number of people it might appear as though it happened really fast for us, that’s not the way it is. We’ve all cut our teeth and put in the hours over the years, and learned as much as possible, and we were drawing on that experience when we were writing these songs and putting together this band.” “We don’t know if it will last forever,” Mayberry continues. “But that’s how you learn. That’s how I learned to be in bands, and to sing – I’ve never had proper formal training. That’s how I learned about songwriting. There was a lot of time spent driving about with an entire backline in the back of a Renault Clio. Those shows.” Doherty beams proudly: “We can still almost fit our entire backline in the back of a Renault Clio.” Mayberry immediately one-ups him with a wicked grin: “I once got two guitar amps, a bass head, and an entire drumkit into the back of a Renault Clio. That’s pretty good. And a keyboard, and me, and one other person.” Doherty has to concede: “That’s unbelievable!” Mayberry gives a nonchalant shrug. “We couldn’t see out of the back window. It was all about the packing. Gear-packing Tetris.” Having witnessed the band’s live show go from rather staid, experimental beginnings, and transform slowly into a polished, utterly absorbing synth-driven behemoth, perhaps the most significant development since their inception has been the growth of Lauren Mayberry’s confidence as a frontwoman. Although her strong, sugar-sweet voice has always been superlative, it has taken a while to develop a confident stage

September 2013

Interview: Bram E. Gieben Photography: Eoin Carey

presence – it is a process that is still ongoing. “This is the first band where the vocals have been my sole thing,” she explains. “It was a learning curve, figuring out what the possibilities were with the live set, and becoming comfortable with not really giving a shit what other people think about your performance. Because a lot of people have a lot of opinions. I’m just trying to figure it out, and I guess there was that aspect of ‘growing up in public’ to an extent.” “That’s something that we’ve all gone through,” says Doherty. “As the lead vocalist, the focus is on Lauren so it’s maybe more apparent, but we’ve all had to grow up on stage playing these songs, and really learn and understand the craft over that period of time. We were thrown into this band, to an extent. No-one walks out on stage and is Jarvis Cocker or Dave Gahan on day one.”

“That’s a good thing, if things are a bit uncomfortable, or a little fucked up” Lauren Mayberry

Twinned with CHVRCHES’ rise to fame has been a concurrent ascent in the popularity of other retro-futuristic and synth-driven, synthpop influenced bands, from Canadian avant-pop visionary Grimes to Nicholas Winding-Refn favourite Johnny Jewel, the producer behind Glass Candy and Chromatics. Do CHVRCHES feel some commonality with this new wave of synth music? “To consider them peers or allies we’d have to know them personally,” says Doherty. “But we do appreciate them for sure, especially people like Grimes – what she’s done is massively inspiring.” The thriving and staggeringly diverse Glasgow music scene seems to have been their main inspiration. Mayberry asserts that there isn’t “a certain sound that is the Glasgow music scene. There are so many different things, electronic stuff, hip-hop, really strong alternative rock, folk stuff. I think that’s really cool.” Doherty agrees. “I love the idea that there isn’t a definitive Glasgow sound, or Scottish sound for that matter. People are doing their own thing – Young Fathers are doing their thing, Frightened Rabbit are doing their thing. There’s space for everyone.” Cook brings it back to matters of pure craft: “If there’s anything that I would hope people take from what we do, it’s just that you can foreground melodies in your songs, and it doesn’t have to be uncool.” And what melodies they are – one listen to The Mother We Share, We Sink or Gun is enough to embed them firmly in the listener’s mind. CHVRCHES have pulled off the impressive feat of writing credible, well-structured songs which are also absolute ear-worms, catchier than the norovirus. Mayberry writes the lion’s share of the lyrics, but Doherty underlines the fact that “nothing’s sacred or untouchable in this band. We all share responsibility.” Everything on Bones was written in the 18 months since the band got together. “I didn’t change the way I write lyrics for this band, and I didn’t think about it much at the time but in hindsight, I’m glad of that,” says Mayberry. “If we had over-thought or overcooked it, that would have fucked up the way I write. We’re not really in the business of writing chirpy pop songs about

how much you love someone, so let’s go ride a bike in the sun, or whatever. I’m fine with that, but it is not where I come from. I think people can tell that.” “It’s a good idea for a tune,” Doherty chips in. “Yeah, write that one down,” laughs Mayberry. “It was important to me that some of the stuff I wrote was uncomfortable to me at the time we were writing it; that’s a good thing, if things are a bit uncomfortable, or a little fucked up. That’s the way life is. Nothing is clean and boxed off and tidy. If it was, that would be awesome and everyone would be really cheerful all the time.” However, Cook reminds her, “nobody would create any art.” Doherty is keen to point out that the band “never wrote these songs with the word ‘pop’ in mind. We never thought too closely about what was going on around and outside the band when we were writing this record, and staying in that basement for as long as possible, writing tunes that excited us and made us happy. My hope is we will never lose that. We’re not going to start the second album and go all Steve Lilywhite and spend millions of pounds – we’ll be right back in that same basement, starting again, shutting the outside world out, you know?” So have CHVRCHES now shaken the ‘mysterious’ tag they were labelled with around the time Lies appeared online? “The reason we didn’t put out any blurbs about the songs, or information like ‘he was in that band, she was in this band,’ was because we didn’t want people to listen to it because of what we had done before,” says Mayberry. “We wanted to put the songs out, and see what the reaction was without any of that stuff. It wasn’t a weird marketing plan, or trying to seem hip.” And given that she is now a global star in the making, does she have any notion of how she might be perceived as a role model by some young fans? “I guess anybody who proclaims

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themselves as a role model has got some ego issues,” she says cautiously. Mayberry’s master’s dissertation was on representations of women in the media, and she has always been acutely aware of how people perceive her in her role as frontwoman. “It’s always been important to us that no-one in this band does anything they’re uncomfortable with,” she says. “There are certain aspects of being a female in a band which I don’t enjoy. Certain things are foisted upon you due to the preconceptions of others. I don’t feel like I have to abide by that. I’m not criticising other people who do want to do those things. I guess when I was sixteen, and listening to bands like Sleater Kinney and PJ Harvey, I found that really exciting.” And finally, what of Doherty’s oft-mentioned alternative career path as a rapper? He sighs wearily. “This has been taken a wee bit out of context. I’m a huge fan of hip-hop and rap, especially Young Fathers. Let’s just myth-bust on the spot right now...” “It was a joke,” says Mayberry. For once and for all, Doherty confirms, he has “no intentions of pursuing an actual rap career! Unless it’s ten to three, and I’m in a pub, and I’m looking for someone to rap battle...” With this final revelation, CHVRCHES leave to meet The Skinny’s photographer, laughing and joking together, displaying the kind of easy camaraderie and intimacy that promises a long and healthy career as a band. Even if Doherty did harbour ambitions of becoming the next Drake, it certainly seems like, for now at least, he has more important things to do. The Bones of What You Believe is out on 23 Sep on Virgin / Goodbye Playing Glasgow’s O2 ABC on 10-11 Oct and Manchester Ritz on 14 Oct www.chvrch.es

Feature

Talking On Cliffs Factory Floor’s self-titled debut LP is one of the most-anticipated of 2013. The band’s Dom Butler describes how they had to go against instinct in order to finish it

t’s mid-October 2010: posturing gothic postpunks O.Children should be stalking the stage of one of Manchester’s more established basement venues, the Ruby Lounge, as part of the now-defunct In The City music conference. On arrival, though, it is not the menacing drawl of Tobi O’Kandi or his group’s wiry guitar lines that have stunned the audience apparently static. Onstage, spits of white light fleck the cloaking darkness; fleeting illuminations reveal limbs moving as pinions in and among wires-on-wires plugged into analogue boxes. Combined, they release an unerringly penetrative rhythm that pounds repeatedly into the quivering walls. Three bodies are just about visible, connected to one another in near-robotic synergy; the intermittent rumbles rolling forth from the stage, though, have the feel of fallen divinity, plumes of discord pouring forth as through from out of the cracks of the earth’s crust. It is relentless, hypnotic; the group are locked-in, lost together in their own chaos. As the rotations of noise draw ever more vast rings around the room, a fourth figure suddenly clambers on-stage, their face desperate, furious. He doesn’t feel like a part of this scene, and it soon becomes clear why. It’s O.Children’s manager. He lurches towards the drummer of the three-piece holding court and attempts to wrench the sticks out of his hands. Cables are flailed at, tugged apart from their machines; the sounds rise in pitch and become more incoherent. In delirium, the spectacle collapses in on itself. Factory Floor’s Dom Butler remembers that gig. “He was really angry,” he chuckles down the phone line, when reminded that his group ran nearly half an hour over their allotted stage time that night. “I think he sent a load of angry tweets about us afterwards too.” Such are the levels of immersion that subsume Butler and his bandmates Nik Void and Gabriel Gurnsey during their live performances that only an increase in profile and subsequent headlining slots have prevented other bands’ managers from baying for their blood. Be it late-night in one of Europe’s rabid techno holes, in the open air of a festival, or – over the last two years – in gallery spaces like London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts or the Tate Modern, the London trio now run until the night’s oil runs dry. “Those earlier sets were fuelled by nerves. They still are really; these performances could just fall apart,” Butler says. “They go on because we lose ourselves in them rather than attempting to keep control. It’s like the breaks have broken and we’re just rolling down the hill, trying to hold on.” It is fair to say that the trio have cemented their live reputation on a bloody-mindedness in how they strive to meet their audience. Delivered at phenomenal volume, their music has always seemed to achieve a live connection through confrontational means: the power of their industrial abrasion ultimately drills down into the core of their crowd with a force that first overwhelms, then holds participants trance-like in its grip, leaving mind and often body at its mercy. “It gets to a temperature,” Butler agrees. However, he posits that such attrition is just the surface-layer of what is a myriad on-stage journey, citing My Bloody Valentine’s infamous Holocaust – their remorseless blitzkrieg of noise delivered towards the end of their set which has, in many instances, stretched out towards the half-hour mark – as an example of how hammering the decibels can help artist and audience achieve a near-meditative state. “For myself, and I’d say the others too, it’s definitely escapism. It’s this thing where you saturate yourselves with

Feature

Interview: Simon Jay Catling Photography: Georgia Kuhn

sound. It’s similar to being out in a thunder storm and it’s pissing down; it’s that moment when you realise you’re drenched and there’s no point protecting yourself from the wind and the weather, and so you just accept it. It’s a peaceful state of mind once you’re there, amidst utter chaos.” At odds with the turbulent balance between calm and calamity that makes up Factory Floor’s live set is their debut LP. Out on DFA, Factory Floor has been a long time coming in the eyes of the group’s steadily increasing following, many of whom tracked them down in earnest after 2010’s brutally affirming EP A Wooden Box, which featured collaborations with New Order’s Stephen Morris and Throbbing Gristle’s Chris Carter – apt, given the inflections of their respective acts on Factory Floor’s output at that time.

“The breaks have broken and we’re just rolling down the hill trying to hold on” Dom Butler

For an act who have committed so much of their development to the natural environment of the live arena, the contrast between that and the studio has been marked. It’s one thing having so many options available when undertaking the recording process, but it also threatens much of the organicity that’s already known and intrinsically trusted, possibly burying it under re-edit after re-edit. “But the live situation is what we know as a group,” answers Butler, “so in the warehouse where we record we just set up a big PA and played for massive chunks of time and just recorded it. Then we’d edit back.” This went against their natural instincts: “A live show is a journey where even the bits that aren’t working and feel like they’re going to sink are still heading towards somewhere; they still affect the emotion and the experience. For the album, we needed to partially re-create that but then edit out the bits where it was falling. It was really hard; some of the ideas were 20 minutes long and it was like ‘shit… there’s not going to be enough vinyl!’” It may have felt like going against their instincts, but it hasn’t affected the finished album. Factory Floor is imbued with a light touch that belies its two-year gestation period. Retaining the unremitting directness of the group’s live shows means that its sonic path evolves through nuance rather than sharp changes of gear, and the structure of the record has clearly been considered – in between the arpeggiated grooves of Here Again, the juddering dystopian disco of Fall Back and How You Say’s scything serration lie three short, disparate pieces: ‘One,’ ‘Two’ and ‘Three.’ Featuring separately a looping warped vocal, a brash guitar sample and an ominously burbling synth, One, Two and Three duck under the constant forward drive of the album and offer a portal beyond the fizzing friction of the group’s mechanical techno. They feel like short reveals of the individuals behind the scenes – full glimpses of the human touch that sits just underneath the rest of the record. “They were ideas that came from each one of us,” Butler explains. “It’s similar to what we did on the Fall Back b-side where we took the elements that we individually brought

to the song. We’ve always enjoyed the intricacy in our set where things drop out and leave the other elements standing. It was important to have that on the album because it gives the listener a deeper understanding of how Factory Floor works. It reflects how we work live too. Sometimes we can clearly recognise one of the others is doing something strong within the music, and so we allow that individual idea to push through and follow it.” The last time Factory Floor spoke to The Skinny, they distanced themselves from any suggestion that they sought to place a narrative on their music. A year on, that hasn’t changed. “But then I don’t find it strange that people do put

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their own framework on it though,” Butler qualifies. “It’s a very visual sound that we create and I think that people will always draw their own conclusions. I see why people will apply a narrative because it helps them to try and understand and explain the music. For us though I don’t think we do; it’s more of a feeling thing. Sound and vision is the same language for me, it’s just different tools that I’m using. But I like that it brings out different readings. It’s when people don’t have much to say you have to start worrying.” Factory Floor is released on 9 Sep via DFA Records dfarecords.com/artists/factoryfloor

THE SKINNY

September 2013

Feature

Not Alone To show his gratitude towards Marie Curie Cancer Care, Robbie Cooper’s Human Is Not Alone has enlisted the cream of the Scottish underground (and beyond) for fundraising gigs and a 16-track compilation. We find out more about its background and goals

May, 1999, and DIY icons and post-hardcore figureheads Fugazi have reached the northernmost date of a pretty exhaustive UK/Ireland tour promoting what would turn out to be their penultimate album. Supporting the band in Aberdeen was then-fledgling Dundonian quartet Laeto, to whom Fugazi were a noted inspiration. “They more than lived up to our expectations in terms of being excellent people,” recollects Laeto drummer Robbie Cooper. “They made a point of talking to us and stood at the side of the stage to watch our set,” even stepping in to insist that “the promoters pay us twice the fee we were offered” to ensure all costs were covered. “For them it was just one of many hundreds they had played,” Cooper notes, “whereas for us it was one of the best shows we have ever been involved in, and an honour to share the stage with such legends." Fourteen years on, and a track recorded at that gig (bony End Hits cut Closed Captioned) forms part of a new compilation curated by Cooper as part of his Human Is Not Alone project. It sits alongside previously unreleased tracks from closer-to-home acts like Titus Gein and Lapsus Linguae, plus handpicked cuts from the back catalogues of RM Hubbert, Zu and more, and will be accompanied later this month by a handful of gigs designed to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care. It’s a charity that understandably means a lot to Cooper, who in 2011 was diagnosed with a rare form of aggressive cancer for which he is in continued treatment. “The short answer is I am OK,” he writes when we email to ask how things are. “I have certainly been worse. If I compare myself to when I didn’t have cancer then I am doing terribly but there is no merit in doing that. I have to take each day as it comes and today I am feeling alright.” Having a rare type of cancer, he explains, complicates his treatment options, forcing his medical team to “basically [make] it up as they go along” – which means multiple therapies, frequent surgery and a great deal of uncertainty. “My body is a living experiment where the results of the experiment can literally mean the difference between life and death,” he continues. “So far the best guesses of my doctors have not been able to stop the cancer in my body from growing and spreading. And so I keep having surgery, as physically cutting it out is at least proactive.” Earlier this year, things were particularly difficult, which led to Cooper being referred to Marie Curie. “The cancer had basically taken over my life,” he says of the period. “I was in constant pain... [So] I spent three weeks in their care, at the end of which the pain was under control and, in turn, I felt more in control of my life.” With the hospice reliant on donations, Cooper checked out feeling compelled to “give something back” and Human Is Not Alone was born. “One of the best ways of thanking the people who work in a charity is to give them the means to carry on their work by making a donation,” he says. “Given I am not a wealthy philanthropist I thought I would try to achieve this goal by luring as many people as possible to locations in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee, and make them give me the money I need in exchange for an evening of loud live music.” Each of the evenings in question will feature performances from Fat Goth, United Fruit, Hey Enemy and Vasquez (a line-up firmly worth catching, charity or no charity), with donated merch being flogged on a name-your-price basis and all involved – venues, printers and so on – offering their services free or at cost price.

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Interview: Chris Buckle Photography: David Newitt

While the venture is designed, first and foremost, to “heap thanks and praise on the staff of Marie Curie,” its remit extends further, with both gigs and compilation continuing Cooper’s long involvement in the Scottish underground music scene and even acting as a retrospective of sorts. “That is very much by design,” he confirms. “It is normal for people who have serious challenges to their health to reflect on what they have done in their life and I very much wanted this to be a compilation of bands that I had enjoyed live and that would remind me of my time in music.” This includes those for whom he’s drummed (as well as Laeto: American Men, Geisha and Iron Crease) and those with whom he’s played shows, promoted shows, or otherwise crossed paths over the years, from the aforementioned Fugazi recording to new music from each of the four bands on the tour bill. In the case of US act Shipping News (represented by the coiled groove of Axons + Dendrites), the connection was through guitarist Jeff Mueller’s earlier band June of 44, who Cooper had put on in Dundee in the late 90s; though offered use of a June of 44 track, Cooper opted for Shipping News in recognition of their bass player Jason Noble, who died last year of another rare form of cancer – a sharp reminder of the project’s significance. And they aren’t the only act on the compilation to have been, in Cooper’s words, “touched by the icy hand of cancer,” with Cerwyss O’Hare – former bass player with Macrocosmica, whose Torch #1 closes the album – sadly passing away from the disease in July this year. Human Is Not Alone may have its roots in Cooper’s own experiences, but it evidently speaks to a far wider context than a single individual’s health.

“I very much wanted this to be a compilation of bands that I had enjoyed live and that would remind me of my time in music”

music production is innate amongst our species. Ever since I first sat behind a drum kit aged 16, music has been a source of joy and frustration in almost equal measure. Learning new techniques can be extremely slow and very challenging at times but once you get it the thrill is intense. Through music I have made some of the most enRobbie Cooper during friendships of my life, including that with As well as raising money, Cooper hopes that my wife (happy 5th anniversary Miriam!). It has Human Is Not Alone will help bring fresh exposure allowed me to travel to new and exciting destinato the featured artists, noting that “by definition tions. It can make me feel good and it can make even the best known underground bands are only me cry. It can be the reason people get together and for Human Is Not Alone people will be united popular amongst a niche audience” and observin recognition of the work done by the staff of ing that none of the acts involved are supported the Marie Curie Cancer Trust. Live music has by mainstream record labels (indeed, the comprovided me with some of the most memorable pilation itself will be released through Bar Bloc’s moments of my life and I am so glad that it can be newly-minted micro-label). the conduit through which I give something back Additionally, his online mission statement to the people that have supported me.” expresses another, more idealistic aspiraPreviously, Cooper has written about his tion: the desire to show that “far from simply treatment with candour (and a perhaps surprisa marketing utensil or commodity, music can ing amount of humour, given the subject matter) still represent something greater to people and on his blog Banal Cancer. In his first post – which benefit the wider community.” We ask Robbie what music represents to him, and his reply con- covered his diagnosis, initial therapies and the decision to debut as a stand-up comedian the templates music’s importance from angles both personal and social. “Music is something primal,” week before substantial surgery – Cooper writes he writes. “It exists in every known human culture of the need to stay positive when faced with such shattering news, citing evidence of a correlation in some form or another... [which suggests] that

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Laeto (L–R: Fraser Simpson, Andrew Smith, Robbie Cooper and Vievin Black)

between mental fortitude and physical recovery. Ten months on, we ask how he manages to do so amidst such testing circumstances. “It is definitely hard to stay positive all the time and as things have gone on and the cancer continues to be a problem I have realised I have got to try and learn to live with it,” he replies. “I have been told that I am never going to be cancer-free and so what I have to do is try and not think about it too much.” Human Is Not Alone seems, then, a rewarding way to channel these experiences into something constructive; something powerful and lasting with the potential to improve the lives of others the way Marie Curie improved his. Cooper ends his answer by underscoring music’s therapeutic qualities. “Listening to music is certainly something I do when I am feeling low and want to feel better,” he states. “Just the other day I sat down and listened to the Big Business album Here Come the Waterworks at a ridiculous volume and air-drummed until my arms hurt. I felt a whole lot better after that.” Human Is Not Alone is released on 16 Sep via Bloc+ Music. The tour, featuring Fat Goth, United Fruit, Vasquez and Hey Enemy rolls into Edinburgh Electric Circus on 19 Sep, Glasgow Stereo on 20 Sep and Dundee Non-Zero’s on 21 Sep humanisnotalone.wordpress.com

THE SKINNY

The Fourth Impact Scotland Loves Anime returns to Glasgow & Edinburgh Words: Josh Slater-Williams

James Blake

he Scotland Loves Anime festival returns to Glasgow and Edinburgh in October for a fourth year of screenings and talks, and that rare opportunity to watch Japanese animation on the big screen – the place where so much of it begs to be seen. Over two consecutive weekends, Glasgow Film Theatre (11-13 Oct) and Edinburgh Filmhouse (18-20 Oct) will showcase some of the best of contemporary and classic anime for both the well-versed and those completely new to the medium. Perhaps the biggest screening coup for this year’s line-up is Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo. The original 90s series Neon Genesis Evangelion – a complex, frequently existential apocalyptic series involving humanoid machines versus giant creatures – is one of anime’s most critically acclaimed and commercially successful franchises, its influence notably extending to Hollywood with recent blockbuster Pacific Rim. In the last few years, its creators have been producing a series of films that retell the story with some major narrative alterations and stylistic differences. SLA hosts the UK premiere of the third of the four films, and also offers a chance to revisit – or see for the first time – 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone and 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance, which are screening from 35mm prints. Also related to classic anime, the GFT will host a showing of Perfect Blue from the late director Satoshi Kon. A hugely striking psychological thriller, its tale of an unravelling pop singer turned actress, both plagued by a stalker and haunted by her own demons, has been a cited influence on the work of American filmmaker Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream). Another older film on offer is lyrical sci-fi romance The Place Promised in Our Early Days, set in an alternate post-war timeline and showing as part of a spotlight on director Makoto Shinkai. A maker of anime with particularly beautiful compositions, his latest film Garden of

September 2013

Words (Filmhouse) will receive its UK premiere at the festival, and the man himself will be in attendance. Among those playing that are accessible for a younger audience, The Life of Gusko Budori (GFT) is an anthropomorphic cat adventure based on a novel by one of Japan’s greatest writers of children’s fiction. Another fantasy adaptation, Fuse, sees a strong independent girl recruited to hunt half-human, half-dog beings that consume souls, a situation we can all relate to. Fuse is a European premiere, as is the mystery film screening. No hints as to what it could be, other than that it’s likely to be a hit with families. A double-bill of short features at both venues takes differing looks at robotics. Ghost in the Shell: Arise, Part 1 is another continuation of one of anime’s most enduring properties, while the intriguing HAL sees an android remodelled to resemble a woman’s late boyfriend and sent to take care of her. Also in the line-up is Hunter x Hunter: Phantom Rouge, based on an unpublished story from a popular manga series. Steins;Gate the Movie (Filmhouse), meanwhile, is another spin-off for fans, following a popular television and video game series. Finally, Patema Inverted receives its UK premiere at SLA, but also screens ahead of its theatrical release in Japan. Its fascinating sci-fi premise sees two inverted worlds – one above and one below – collide as two young people from opposite ends create contact with one another. SLA may be entirely devoted to one medium’s output, but the wide array of stories on offer at this year’s instalment matches that of many a bigger festival. Scotland Loves Anime runs 11-13 Oct in Glasgow and 18-20 Oct in Edinburgh

eptember brings with it a sense of riddim, at least at the ABC; but before we get to the more rasta-inclined of what’s on offer over the next four weeks, we’re first treated to a dose of classy soul with James Blake (O2 ABC, 18 Sep). He will, no doubt, be bringing a dubby vibe, but Blake’s mastery is in his hazy mingling of categories, drawing on bassy electronica, modified vocals, and a post-dubstep fuzz not unlike his pals Mount Kimbie. Expect this London producer, known for his remarkably rapid rise to prominence over the last three years, to be performing a mix of Overgrown (released in April this year) and his 2011 Mercury nominated debut album James Blake. Come for the wobble, stay for the sophisticated arrangements and deft, progressive beats. For many, The Wailers (O2 ABC, 26 Sep) are reggae, responsible for bringing the man himself – Robert Nesta (but you can call him Bob) Marley – onto the global stage. For others, this formative Jamaican reggae band (originally dubbed Bob Marley and the Wailers) was part of the rich, emerging tapestry of rocksteadyinfluenced music in the late 60s and 70s. This reformed rasta roster (sorry) is, of course, missing one crucial member for this UK tour, but they are playing Legend (y’know, the best selling reggae album of all time) in full – so it’ll be like he’s there with you, as you screech along to I Shot The Sheriff or get down to Jamming. The set-list will be nothing short of iconic, so make sure you’re there in good time to catch Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett (the only present member of the ‘69 crew) laying down the groove. But to ensure you really get yer bass fix this month, it’s pretty much required that you stop by the Congo Natty Soundsystem (O2 ABC, 29 Sep) – partly for their 4am licence, but mainly for their impressive assembly of acts. Featuring ragga veteran Daddy Freddy and rapper Tenor Fly (he of Freestylers fame), the night is a guaranteed six-hour skank ‘n’ grind through some fresh jungle heat. And don't miss what's gwanin on the Bass Warrior's Soundsystem beforehand, with local DJs Bad News and Deadly Rhythm (as well as more to be announced) dropping some colossal bass music. Irie, bredrin. [George Sully] www.o2abcglasgow.co.uk

Screenings take place at both GFT and Filmhouse unless otherwise stated See website for full set of screening times and more details: www.lovesanimation.com

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Screening the Obscene Ahead of its big screen adaptation starring James McAvoy, we speak to him and to Irvine Welsh about his third novel Filth, a delightful tale of a dirty copper and his foul-mouthed tapeworm

Interview: Tom Seymour

s yours truly sits to write this article, Irvine Welsh tweets to his 93,597 followers: ‘Maybe I should get a little sun on dem long Leith limbs. Maybe it’s time to say ‘fuck work’ today. Maybe it is. Yes sir, Mr IRS man.’ When we met earlier this year, he’d just flown in from the Cannes Film Festival (“bunch of kids spaffing their inheritance on rosé,” is his summary). He promoted Filth for a few days, and then did the rounds at the Hay Festival. Then he returned to his new-adopted Miami, his retirement home in the sun. Welsh’s skin has a leathery permatan to it; he flirts with the girl applying his on-air make-up like a veteran of the whole charade, and there’s a bit of a beer belly poking out from his leather jacket. He looks, just a little, like a cross between Crocodile Dundee and Charles Bronson. But don’t be deceived. The great gatecrasher of British literature, the lad that – in his own words – ‘went to London, made some money, but in the good Scots tradition, managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory’ isn’t packing up yet. Nor has he forgotten where he’s come from: he’s still the mohawked punk of the 80s intent on scaring the shit – by looks and by argument – out of any Thatcher-loving suit. He’s still as committed to the skagboys of post-industrial Scotland as he is to Hibernian FC. He’s still the guy who knows, as well as anyone, what it’s like to have the 'best orgasm you’ve ever had... multiply it by a thousand' as you plunge the needle and lie back on the floor of a squat. And he’s still the basis of great movies. The author of Trainspotting, The Acid House, Porno and Ecstasy is rightly proud of Jon S. Baird’s adaption of his third novel, Filth, in which Bruce Robertson, an Edinburgh policeman, does everything in his power to abuse any power he has. As he writes in the book: ‘That’s the beauty aboot being polis: it doesnae really matter whether or not everybody hates you, as long as they’re civil tae your face and can put up a good front. You can only live in the world you ken. The rest is just wishful thinking or paranoia.’ “I wrote Filth at the crest of that wave of fame that came from the success of Trainspotting,” Welsh says. “The last book had gone straight to number one, and then Filth went the same way. Commercially, I was at the top of the pile, so I was writing the book from a position of strength. I wasn’t an unknown. But it made me want to write a novel that was completely incendiary, totally crazy. Trainspotting and Ecstasy were about skinny drug-lovers. So I started with the guy on the other side of the coin – who was putting these poor lads in jail.” But when news filtered through that Baird and James McAvoy, Filth’s star and producer, were to adapt the book, Welsh was concerned: “I couldn’t really imagine it as a film to be honest. It didn’t make a lot of sense to me. But the whole thing wouldn’t have been possible without James. A character on a page can be as bad as you want, but an audience needs to engage with a character on screen, in spite of all the things he does. James is capable of putting empathy into the character; you can actually see him fighting against it. Bruce is actually quite a decent guy going through a really hard time. He might be a bit of a bastard y’know, but he’s having it tough. James pushes that out there.” A bit of a bastard? Film titles are rarely so accurate; unless cinemas start providing live tapeworms to share your popcorn, it’s difficult to imagine how Filth could be more filthy. Because Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson – Filth’s

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Photo: Neil Davidson

hero – is not a man you’d want protecting your town. A homophobe, a racist, a misanthrope and a misogynist, he upends whisky, snorts his way through thin white lines, and plays his mates off against each other while working through their wives – and that’s when he’s not stealing from old ladies and raping young girls. Full-blooded, casually heinous, elegantly wasted but weirdly heartfelt as well, McAvoy is perfect for the role: he makes you almost want to have a pint with Bruce. Even as he commits the most disgusting crimes. Even as he wakes the next morning not knowing who he is, guilt hanging off him. Even as he accepts advice from the tapeworm living in his intestinal tract. “Bruce,” the tapeworm says. “You’re an ugly and silly old man. You’re very possibly an alcoholic and God knows what else. You’re the type of sad case who preys on vulnerable, weak and stupid women in order to boost his own shattered ego. You’re a mess. You’ve gone wrong somewhere pal.” McAvoy’s opinion of Bruce is rather more compassionate. When we speak, he describes his take on the character as a study of psychosis: “Bruce is mentally ill, stemming from his self-esteem issues, his inferiority issues, his fear of everybody, which manifests itself in a superiority guise and a reality he writes in his own head,” explains the 34-year-old Glaswegian. “He’s terrified of being weak. So he drinks and does drugs to keep that sense of power intact. And he’s just gone deeper and deeper and deeper into it, until he can’t remember what it was like to

be normal.” Welsh has never written his characters with sympathy. The author’s stance in Filth is evasive, ambiguous about Bruce at best. Does he accept McAvoy’s socially-minded take on the character?

“I think society is ill; Bruce is a character that came out of the Thatcherite, extreme individualistic, very entitled, hubristic attitude” Irvine Welsh

“I was interested in mental illness, yeah,” says Welsh. “It’s an ongoing issue I see with people who have bipolar disorder. They have their medication, they take it and everything’s fine, but they don’t feel they’re living life right on the edge or right to the full. So they skip back on the medication and have a breakdown. I’ve seen that

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happen with quite a few people I’ve known over the years, so it’s something that’s always interested me. “But I wanted to look at mental illness in a broader sense,” continues Welsh, who seems destined to always return to the “shared universe” of lower-rung Edinburgh, to his love-torn fascination of Scottish community and the ravages upon it that veins its way through his work (the characters from Trainspotting make cameo appearances in The Acid House, Marabou Stork Nightmares, Ecstasy and Filth, although Baird is careful not to overplay the references in the film). “I think society is ill; Bruce is a character that came out of the Thatcherite, extremeindividualistic, very entitled, hubristic attitude. That’s a mental illness in itself, in much the same way the extreme collectivism of 1984 was a mental illness. How does someone from a traditional working class background deal with cognitive dissonance? How do they deal with society’s beliefs being out of step with its actions? Bruce’s personal pathology is as much about social pathology.” Irvine Welsh shakes hands and moves on to his next interview. The self-made lad from Leith is now a celebrity, only popping home occasionally – but no one’s going to hold it against him. He could have had a quiet time of it. He could have chosen a fucking big television, washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. He didn’t. He chose life. Filth is released in cinemas on 27 Sep in Scotland and 4 Oct in the rest of the UK

THE SKINNY

The Cost of Action

Take One Action Film Festival (27 Sep–12 Oct) is back with another packed programme of films asking big questions and exposing injustices from across the world. We look at the films in one of its new strands, The Cost of Action Words: Helen Wright

Fire in the Blood

hat costs making sacrifices for your principles? Two documentaries in this year’s new Take One Action strand, The Cost of Action, ask this question of protagonists in very different but related tales. Blood Brother follows a young American who decides to move to India to live permanently as a carer for children suffering from HIV and AIDS; Fire in the Blood takes on the virus and disease on a global scale, recounting how big pharmaceutical companies inflated the price of lifesaving drugs, effectively sentencing millions in developing countries to death. The intrepid westerner on a gap year volunteering project is a familiar figure in our culture. Deciding to treat this time out as a longer term endeavour is seemingly regarded as an anomaly, as Blood Brother attests. Behind the camera is Steve Hoover, whose best friend Rocky has abandoned their home in Pittsburgh for an orphanage near Chennai. Cynical hackles at first tentatively rise as opening scenes depicting the death of a local child appear in slightly too glossy, colour-saturated digital images. Hoover has a background as a music video director and it shows in his stagey compositions and slick editing. However, Rocky’s intensity, and his barely concealed antagonism towards Hoover, his crew, and their shared western origins, draw a nuanced and touching picture overall. Later, the child’s death is returned to and Rocky is shown devastated and huddling in his quarters after villagers suggest he is responsible because he tried to remove her to a hospital and she died during the journey. We learn of weaknesses alongside heroism. Rocky is a survivor of childhood abuse and there is an implicit suggestion that this is what propels him to look after other victims. The film’s stylistic veneer grates a little but empathy overtakes and, as Hoover concurs in voiceover, Rocky’s actions are very moving and serve to break down cultural barriers rather than increase them. A central part of Rocky’s bravery is his fearlessness in treating and getting close, both physically and emotionally, to people who are

carrying a deadly virus. In Fire in the Blood, South African Zachie Achmat, a human rights activist who is diagnosed with HIV and contracts fullblown AIDS, puts this into perspective by making a much deeper sacrifice, refusing antiretroviral treatment until it is available to everyone at low cost. Achmat is one of several who are battling Big Pharma and their cruel medicinal monopolies in director Dylan Mohan Gray’s movie. Packing its narrative with facts and figures, Fire in the Blood takes a more objective approach than Hoover’s work. Focus falls on Yusuf Hamied, a scientist in India who designed an AIDS drug combination to sell for less than $1 a day, when US-based companies were charging $15,000 a year for their treatments. Statistics and impressive journalistic reporting are punctuated by individual stories such as Achmat’s, Hamied’s, and Ugandan physician Peter Mugyenyi’s, who ordered a batch of low-cost medication in defiance of his country’s patent laws, risking imprisonment. Talking heads mixed with archive footage of speeches, demonstrations, and, most affectingly, reams of the casualties of big business’s heinous practices make for a sobering account. The effect is a forceful condemnation of corporate greed alongside a hopeful tract on the lengths some humans will go to to help others. The Cost of Action finds further focus in big news issues. Pandora’s Promise explores the potential of nuclear energy in a world being rapidly drained by fossil fuel usage, and State 194 charts Palestine’s bid to build democracy and infrastructure as part of its goal of becoming a recognised country. Both further highlight, though, that it is the work of individuals behind the headlines forfeiting their privileges and making extraordinary efforts which drives humanitarian struggle. Fire in the Blood opens Take One Action film festival on 27 Sep at Filmhouse, Edinburgh. The screening is followed by a Q&A with special guests including Ugandan HIV campaigner Winnie Ssanyu Sseruma www.takeoneaction.org.uk

Salma

Award-winning documentarian Kim Longinotto discusses her new film Salma, one of the highlights of Sisters, a new strand in Take One Action film festival (27 Sep–12 Oct) Interview: Jamie Dunn

isters is a new strand in Take One Action Film Festival, and according to its programme it aims to “cast a positive and critical lens on the vital role played by women in global development, activism and environmental sustainability, as well as injustices resulting from unjust gender norms.” Salma, the latest feature from the ever brilliant Kim Longinotto (Divorce Iranian Style, Pink Saris), certainly fits the bill. Salma centres on the 44-year-old poet of the title, whose life reads as a series of abuses. She was abandoned by her mother as a baby to be raised by her 7-year-old aunt – “I suppose I was too young to care,” is her birth mother’s brazen explanation – before spending her adolescent years locked in a one-window room, as is the norm for pubescent girls in her community; then her birth mother guilted her into marriage by claiming she was terminally ill and that her dying wish was to attend her daughter’s wedding – Salma’s mother, as we see in the film, is still fit as an ox. Once married her incarceration continued, and her husband, Malick, would keep a jar of acid above their bed as a threat to keep his wife in line. Remarkably, though, Salma overcame all these obstacles to become one of India’s most acclaimed modern poets. Even more remarkable is the fact that Salma remains on amicable terms with the people who have tried so hard to oppress her. “I learned an awful lot from Salma

September 2013

about families,” says Longinatto after the film’s UK premiere at this year’s Sheffield Doc/Fest, “how you can be in a very difficult situation with your family but it doesn’t stop you loving them.” Salma’s life story would make for a fiery polemic but Longinatto opts for calm observation over melodrama. There is heat here, though, and it comes from the fission between the pleasant way in which Salma and her family interact and the horrors of the way they have behaved towards her in the past. “You have Salma and her mum cooking in the kitchen, but then you have Salma telling us what it was like for her growing up,” says Longinatto regarding this palpable tension. “So on the surface everything looks fine, but then she tells us actually what it was like to live in the family. They have all this unhappiness and pain that they’ve learned to live with and put aside.” This façade, Longinatto explains, is one she recognises from her own life. “I had a very difficult relationship with my family, particularly my father, who was very much like [Salma’s husband] Malick,” she says. “I puzzled for a long time about why my dad was so angry, he was always torturing my mum and shouting. But if you met us, if you came to our house, they would put on a show for you, and I think that’s what’s so interesting about what Salma has done and how brave she is to tell the real story.” For all Salma’s bravery, it becomes clear

Salma

throughout the film that defying the social mores of the community in which she was raised, and still lives, has left her isolated. Her relationships with the mother who abandoned her and the husband who imprisoned her, meanwhile, are still filled with unresolved issues and anxieties. It’s clearly not easy being a pioneer. “People who break the rules, people who are forerunners of change, often have very very difficult lives,” agrees Longinatto. “They often feel they are outsiders. They don’t fit in, but they make life better for us to come.” Has Salma’s fight been worth the alienation she now feels from her own people? After the film’s screening at Doc/Fest this question was raised during a Q&A with Salma. Here’s her response: “Until I was 32 I could hardly cross a road. And today I have come here, across the world, all by myself. So it’s symbolic of the independence that I have achieved. Of course I had to pay a huge price to achieve that. My relationships have often been fraught. I have had to struggle very hard in order to attain that. But it is my right, and

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it’s worth the price I paid.” Salma screens at Filmhouse on 4 Oct. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Kim Longinotto via Skype A Neu! Reekie! poetry and music event follows the screening www.takeoneaction.org.uk Win tickets! We've got three pairs of tickets to give away to Take One Action Film Festival opener Fire in the Blood and the Opening Night Ceilidh on Fri 27 Sep. To be in with a chance of winning, head along to www.theskinny.co.uk/about/ competitions and register your answer to this question: Among the many highlights of last year's Take One Action Film Festival were War Witch, Canadian filmmaker Kim Nguyen's fierce and poignant tale of child soldiers in southern Africa and 5 Broken Cameras, in which Palestinian co-director Emad Burnat chronicled his fellow villagers' battle to halt land seizures by Israeli settlers. What success story on the international awards circuit links these two films? a) They were both nominated for an Oscar b) They both won Grammys for best soundtrack. c) They were both shortlisted for the Turner prize Competition closes midnight Sun 22 Sep. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 24 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Full terms and conditions can be found at www.theskinny.co.uk/about/terms

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Through the Never Brooklyn prodigy Daniel Lopatin, aka Oneohtrix Point Never, opens up on his new album for Warp, harsh childhood piano lessons, and ‘object-oriented ontology’

eplica was characterised by complex tonal shifts; echoing drones, esoteric samplecraft, treated loops and cold synth washes. By contrast, Daniel Lopatin’s new album as Oneohtrix Point Never, R Plus 7, is full of joyful, almost tropical synths and exuberant, arpeggiated melodic patterns. “Its propensity towards being a joyful record comes from being surrounded by this overly-maudlin music,” he says. The mood has been bleak of late, from the crepuscular, doomy atmospherics of Raime to the nighmarish gravescapes of The Haxan Cloak. “I would always end up on bills with these really grim acts,” Lopatin continues. “You can overdose on it... it loses its purpose.” There is a more structured melodic approach in evidence on R Plus 7: “With the older stuff, I would work compositionally around samples that would dictate what I needed to do musically,” he explains. “For R Plus 7, I was sitting down at a keyboard, typically with a pipe organ-type sound, sketching ideas, recording it, and then manipulating it… it was a different way of working.” Lopatin was first taught to play as a child. “Those early piano lessons are not pleasant memories,” Lopatin laughs. “My mother was a very serious and disciplined teacher. A taskmaster who was always correcting my posture and fixing my back, my hands. She was very intimidating, and didn’t treat me like a child. Thus, I think those memories are somewhat tainted! I really benefited from what she was able to teach me. But ultimately, I ran away. There is some regret there. When we get together, she’s always saying, ‘I wish you had stuck with it.’ Maybe one of these summers, I’ll just disappear, and we’ll work on harmony together, refresh a bit.” Nevertheless, that classical training did provide Lopatin with a starting point for R Plus 7. “I was a little bit more intrigued by that part of me, this time around, whereas I’ve been through a long phase of thinking of that as an ancillary aspect of what I’m doing,” he says. “When it does come together, it’s such a rush. To make it all connect, and to feel the way that it does, there’s a lot of magic and trickery and voodoo involved. I’m really quite technically limited; I wouldn’t call myself a musician, necessarily.” When asked how he feels about releasing his first full-length record on Warp, Lopatin is

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Interview: Bram E. Gieben

only half-joking when he says: “I think they’re very lucky to have me.” He laughs. “They’re really focused and together individuals, in a way that I really need. Because I am not. I appreciate their calm. I feel like I’ve been kind of a journeyman... doing things to satisfy my own interests and inclinations. There’s very little feeling of labels dictating what I do, now or ever – I’ve never had that kind of relationship with any label.” Although in no sense a nostalgic or self-consciously ‘retro’ album, R Plus 7 does contain some glitchy, complex beats that have a lot in common with the sonic realms of various figures from Warp’s storied past. “I do have this mimetic part of my personality,” Lopatin reflects. “When Carlos Giffoni started putting out my records on No Fun, I started taking a deeper interest in their back catalogue, because he was sharing with me this rich history that he was tapped into. With Warp, it’s quite different – what they’ve been, and what they are, is kind of ingrained in people’s DNA. If you love electronic music, you’ve almost got this hardened layer you can’t irrigate, that layer of hardened rock formation that is Warp. I don’t really know how to judge it. I think it’s always been a part of me.” He namechecks Autechre, Broadcast, and Boards of Canada as key inspirations. In the past, Lopatin has argued that there exists in his work a layer of humour that critics ignore or overlook, describing himself as “something of a musical satirist.” Does R Plus 7 contain satirical elements? Lopatin laughs. “Lots, but I’m not gonna give it away.” Attempting to draw him out, The Skinny mentions the corporate video aesthetics of the ‘vaporwave’ microgenre, 90s video game soundtracks, and early rave synths. Are we getting warm? “I don’t know, maybe,” he replies enigmatically. He is equally tight-lipped about any potential narrative interpretations of the album: “There is a narrative, just by the virtue of the process of making it,” he offers, “but not one that’s specific enough to share.” One thing Lopatin is happy to discuss is the process behind gathering the material and information used in the creation of his music. Many internet-addicted readers will recognise the description he offers of himself as someone with “the archiving bug.” Sorting through the various sources and reference points that lead to an album’s creation can be difficult, which, he says, is

does it feel like?’” This leads him to one of the major themes of his recent work, namely exploring what he calls “object-oriented ontology,” a concept he also sees in the work of sound and visual artist Mark Fell. “That’s one of the questions I’m always interested in as an artist, even when I’m not directly addressing technology. In my general curiosity about the world, I’m always asking, ‘What does it feel like to be this? What does it feel like to be that?’ It could be something animate or inanimate – it’s that liquification of poles that I’m into.” This object-oriented, ontological approach is also explored in the work of Takeshi Murata, who filmed the video for Problem Areas. “I was inspired by his still life work,” which features in the video, Lopatin explains. “That particular series he did is super inspiring to me. Specifically, this idea of musical objects – instead of focusing on music, thinking of sounds as these acute choices that are grouped together, that create a sense of place, a cultural sense of contrast.” What does he hope to achieve by creating these ‘musical objects’ and acute choices? It is “a way of giving inanimate objects a kind of secret life. By virtue of them interacting with each other in plain sight, with very little in the way of bells and whistles around it, you get a really deep Daniel Lopatin experience of the sound, instead of the music. logical things are happening in our culture – I’m That’s really interesting to me.” As with Fell’s ready to be swept away in it,” he continues. “If I’m work, “it’s a weird hybrid of ideas about objecta typical example of a person living in a society oriented ontology and music itself.” with those kind of technocratic dictates, I feel Lopatin, originally from Massachusetts, very free right now – more free, perhaps, than confesses he is less inspired by the musical earlier generations would have felt when global culture of Brooklyn than he used to be. “Before, I communications began to affect people on a dai- would immerse myself more casually in what was ly basis. I’m perpetually curious about the artistic going on musically around here, but it’s like I’m quotient in all of that. I feel like it’s endless.” very gradually becoming a hermit. Not a misanthropic one, but a hermit.” If the fruits of these The growing intersectionality between periods of splendid isolation are as intriguing diverse levels and types of culture fascinates as R Plus 7, perhaps the hermetic life has value. him. “There’s stratification going on, and then Lopatin’s new offering displays a palpable unity of the breakage,” he explains, perhaps referring thought, inspiration and process. Or as Hermes to traditionally observed cultural and artistic Trismegistus might say: ‘As above, so below.’ divides and subcultural ‘tribes.’ For Lopatin, exploring and discovering new cultural objects and R Plus 7 is out on 30 Sep via Warp. Oneohtrix Point Never trends is the fun part. “There’s a lot to enjoy in plays Glasgow’s CCA on 1 Oct the actual process of that happening, as opposed www.pointnever.com to the analysis of the factions, which is where we were. I think now, people are more like, ‘So what “a lesson I learned... I realised that making things hard for yourself is not necessarily a point of pride. I have this kind of... digital hoarding aspect of my personality. I’ll make audacious demands of myself, and others working with me, to create these piles or indexes of things to use. The task is less musical, and more like, ‘Go through this gigantic fucking pile, and find all the sweet spots.’” This tallies with his thoughts about the generation to which he belongs, who he has collectively described as “a generation of linkmasters,” infinitely curious, always scouring the internet and both mainstream and disparate underground cultures for new sounds, new data. “It’s becoming us,” he says. He’s glad to see the back of the “boring, Orwellian conversation” that dominated the internet’s first two decades. “I have some dystopian tendencies, as well as this ability to just accept whatever morpho-

“There’s a lot of magic and trickery and voodoo involved...”

MUSIC

THE SKINNY

PRESENTS . . .

A NIGHT OF STORIES, SIGHTS AND SOUNDS Be a part of Canongate’s journey to The Other Side 19th September, 7-11PM, The Jam House Queen Street, Edinburgh

Tickets £10 from bit.ly/passtotheotherside Canongate is turning 40 and to celebrate we are bringing together some of the best storytellers we know from the worlds of books, music and film. Authors Michel Faber, Matt Haig, Alasdair Gray and Michael Smith will be joined by musicians Aidan Moffat (ex-Arab Strap), R M Hubbert and Rick Redbeard (The Phantom Band), plus very special guests. Jeremy Dyson (League of Gentleman, Psychoville, Ghost Stories), will take us over to the dark side with his twisted tales and classical pianist James Rhodes, whose debut album, Razor Blades, Little Pills and Big Pianos reached No 1 in the iTunes classical chart, will give an exclusive performance. Hosted by South Bank Associate Artist and official poet for the London Olympics Lemn Sissay, the event will also showcase original films featuring Tilda Swinton and the late Gil Scott Heron, plus an exclusive preview of Jonathan Glazer’s much-anticipated film adaptation of Under the Skin (starring Scarlett Johansson and due for release 2014). Bibliotherapy will be provided by The School of Life’s Ella Berthoud, author of The Novel Cure.

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THE SKINNY

The Quiet After the Storm With critics passed out in the hallways and tourist levels plummeting from the surge the Fringe causes, it’s very easy to assume theatre and other performance arts suddenly come to a complete standstill come September

The Events, Traverse

on’t bet on it getting any quieter post-festival season. Theatres across the country are getting ready to launch a packed autumn season of shows, starting right about now. The Tron in Glasgow will be housing The Collection by Mike Cullen (10-14 Sep); performed by Rapture Theatre who toured The Sash last year, The Collection follows a debt collector who is confronted with one of his clients committing suicide. The production is also due to appear at the Traverse in Edinburgh (20-21 Sep). The Traverse will also be revitalised by the new writing produced in the MA Classical and Contemporary Text programme (12-14 Sep). This is a scheme put together by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the Playwrights’ studio – they match up three of Scotland’s leading playwrights, Catherine Grosvener, Rob Drummond and David Ireland, with the actors and directors studying on the MA course at the RCS to create new plays. At age 50, the Traverse continues to be the beacon for new writing in Edinburgh. Meanwhile, the King’s in Edinburgh is staging a production of Dunsinane (1-5 Oct, see preview, p60), and the Lyceum brings the premiere of a play written by crime writer Ian Rankin in collaboration with director Mark Thomson and Wales Millennium Centre (25 Sep-19 Oct). Dark Road’s theme is familiar – a crime mystery that causes the detective in charge of an investigation to become personally involved in a case, with dire consequences. With Rankin’s talent for telling a story and keeping suspense on the ‘edge of your seat’ setting, it is difficult to imagine how this could possibly go wrong. Turning west, Glasgow sees the return of Arches Live (17-23 Sep), the Arches’ annual

September 2013

celebration of new Scottish performance. This year’s theme is strongly tied to the idea of identity – especially in the context of the Scottish independence debate. The theatrical world is gearing up to fully engage with the political dialogue, in advance of next year’s referendum. It’s important they join in, both as a primary means of exploring the different sides of the argument, and in order to ensure their relevance as an artform is maintained. Yet, the idea of ‘selling’ something as Scottish culture is already causing problems and dilemmas: what exactly does it mean to be Scottish? Is it a geographical restriction, meaning that whoever lives in Scotland is henceforth Scottish? From the outside, is being Scottish just about Irn Bru and Walker’s Shortbread? Of course, this is not just relevant to the arts and the oft-referenced independence debate – it must also be an issue for the Commonwealth Games committee, as they try to build a positive sense of pride for the host Weegies. Arches Live brings this kind of debate to the fore, but also examines other aspects of identity. For example, in a talk facilitated by Dr Laura Bissell, Adrian Howells – artist in residence at the Arches – explores the definition of an artist in a breakfast discussion entitled Am I an Artist? (28 Sep, 10.30am). What makes an artist? Who can be an artist? Is it someone who gets paid to create their art, someone who studies art, or could it be anyone looking to express themselves through an artistic medium? Meanwhile, in a durational installation concluding in a 30 minute performance, Callum MacAskill plans to consider the consumerist nature of our society. Every Pound’s a Prisoner (25-26 Sep) is created on a budget of

£49.99 in collaboration with Poundland. Through the purchase of a random assortment of objects, MacAskill improvises a show in the Arches restaurant. An equally politically – themed performance seems to be Sortition by Adam Scarborough (1718 Sep), which examines the idea of autonomy, and self-governance. The blurb describes this as ‘part manifesto and part forum-theatre; together we’ll learn how to take more control over the decisions that shape our lives.’ This is an intelligent premise, but how does anyone know which decision is important, and which isn’t? It is difficult to say whether this a discussion regarding personal choice and fulfillment or a manifesto relating to a collective autonomous political governance. On the other side of Glasgow’s city centre, the Tron is putting on a completely different programme, featuring Stellar Quines and David Greig in the Main House. While both productions are quite interesting in their own right, the extremely exciting work seems to be taking place in the Changing House, with Fog (10-12 Sep) – a play about the problems in the foster care system – and The Taking of Zena Charbonne (6-7 Sep), a psychological thriller involving the wife of a politician being kidnapped. And even more exciting, though an age-old tale, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (25-28 Sep) is revisited by the troupe behind Bard at the Botanics. Looking at Romeo and Juliet as a political tale (again in the context of independence), it can remind us how bigoted, racist, and prejudiced we can be, particularly about people we’ve never met; it’s not just a love story. Shakespeare’s work makes a point about the future of the Montagues and Capulets; having killed off their future generations through pride and prejudice, the two families finally realise that

THEATRE

hate is not a way of moving forward. Examining that message in a modern context of war and strife and distrust – in strangers, in the market, in the government – it goes to show how timeless the Bard’s work truly is. A little further north, the Macrobert in Stirling has an interesting range of work for the stage. Aside from promoting its own 2013 Fringe production Educating Ronnie (touring, 12 Sep-19 Oct), it will be visited by touring works, including Stellar Quines’ The List (6 Sep), David Leddy’s Long Live the Little Knife (21 Sep), and Harold Pinter’s Betrayal (11 Sep). Nobel winner Pinter is known for his awkward pauses and his very strongly expressed views on politics, which makes this combination of works an extremely interesting one. Regardless of what you think of theatre, post-Fringe silence doesn’t exist in Scotland. The Collection, Tron, 10-14 Sep, £16, Traverse, 20-21 Sep, £15.50 MA Classical and Contemporary Text programme – New Writing, Traverse, 12-14 Sep, £6 Dunsinane, King’s Theatre, 1-5 Oct Dark Road, Lyceum, 25 Sep-19 Oct, £14-£27.50 Arches Live, 17-23 Sep Fog, Tron, 10-12 Sep The Taking of Zena Charbonne, Tron, 6-7 Sep Romeo and Juliet, Tron, 25-28 Sep Educating Ronnie, Macrobert then touring, 12 Sep-19 Oct The List, Macrobert, 6 Sep Long Live the Little Knife, Macrobert, 21 Sep Betrayal, Macrobert, 11 Sep

Feature

Photo: Steven Cummiskey

Words: Eric Karoulla

Real Imagined Things Prize-winning author Adam Marek talks about The Stone Thrower, exploring parenthood and childhood through a series of dystopian, near-future worlds

ike fellow Comma Press author Hassan Blasim, Adam Marek’s short stories conjure frightening dystopian visions of the near future. While Blasim’s surreal, often nightmarish work explores post-war Iraq, Marek’s characters are dealing with the fear and moral uncertainty which goes along with becoming a parent. “When I had my first child, it felt like whatever armour I’d built up during my lifetime to cope with the outside world was made redundant,” Marek confesses. “The most tender, sensitive, inner part of myself was now outside of my body and vulnerable to the worst of the world.” Caring for his eldest son, who suffers from epilepsy, and has severe learning difficulties along with autistic tendencies, has taught him about the fragility of children, the fierceness of the parental instinct, and the often painful experience of dealing with other peoples’ preconceptions. As Marek says, “People who have kids with disabilities or medical problems get to experience parenthood at the sharp end.” This “sharp end” is pictured with heartbreaking emotional honesty in A Thousand Seams, which features a child with a physiognomy so delicate he must be protected at all times; and Tamagotchi, where a child with autistic tendencies befriends a digital pet only for it to contract a hideous virus, leading to both he and his father being ostracised. Some tales are told from the perspective of a child, most are from the point of view of an anxious and protective parent. “As my kids grow up, I’m continuously re-experiencing the world in a highly sensitised state,” says Marek. “It makes for high levels of anxiety, but it’s also great fuel for the creative process. All of the stories in The Stone Thrower are projections in one way or another of what it feels like for me to be a parent.” Marek has previously described short stories as “an incredibly plastic form” – what is it about the smaller frame that appeals to him? They offer “a huge amount of creative freedom,” he says. “You can play with form, with perspectives, and bend all the rules of narrative. You can experiment and be bold, try out absurd or outrageous ideas that might be impossible to sustain throughout the length of a novel.” It’s a question of taking creative risks: “You can afford to fail in short stories. You have to be much more cautious with a novel, pack all your bags carefully before setting out. With a short story, you can just run outside in your pants.” Marek believes that short stories and novels are read and remembered in completely different ways, because “the whole of a short story can be held in the mind at once.” By comparison, novels can be read over a much longer period, so only fleeting impressions and scattered details are recalled. “When you can see the whole of a short story in vivid detail, every word counts. You can afford to be subtle, make the whole story turn on a word.” Marek does this masterfully in The Stone Thrower, offering several concluding sentences which completely change the story that has gone before. Marek’s technical and artistic accomplishments were recognised when he was longlisted for the Frank O’Connor Prize for his first collection, Instruction Manual for Swallowing. The Stone Thrower also received a nomination for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize this year. Perhaps one reason for his critical success is his ability to combine intensely-researched world-building – predicting a myriad of apocalypses, declines and falls of civilisation – with such intensely emotional subject matter. Which is more important

Feature

to him – prose, or theme? “The two are inseparable,” he believes. “Stories aren’t composed in the imagination in words. They’re real, imagined people doing real, imagined things. To make a world realistic, you have to look at your imagined scenario closely enough that you get enough specific details to make it solid and believable. At this stage it’s still invisible to your reader. You have to coat the story in words, like wrapping all its pieces in newspaper papier-mâché, until it becomes visible. The more accurately you describe your imagined world, the more faithfully is the world rendered in your reader’s mind.” The terrifying superheroruled dystopia of The Captain is as vividly and realistically depicted as the rocky, possibly posteco-catastrophe seascape of Fewer Things. The secret of his success at world-building is “research and redrafting,” he says. He avoids the classic speculative fiction error of excessive infodump by rejecting “a huge amount of supporting material” from early drafts, which “tend to have way too much exposition in them, lots of unnecessary details built up. The editing process – my favourite part – is about cutting out everything that doesn’t serve the point of the story, and trying to approach the heart of the story as obliquely as possible.” This allows his stories to “take up enormous brain space in the reader while utilising as few words as possible.” The challenge, he says, is “getting as much in the tiny suitcase as possible.” Asked why his visions of the near future are so bleak, he responds: “No one wants to read about fully functioning utopias. We read to see characters in conflict with themselves and their environments.” Marek wanted to be a writer since the age of 11, and praises his wife for her patience and encouragement as he refined his work, entering competitions and submitting manuscripts to agents and publishers. “When I was 19, I first decided that I was going to write something that I would try to get published. I got my first short story published 10 years later. I wrote almost every day during those 10 years.” Eventually he met Ra Page, editor and publisher at Comma. “There was a big moment in my writing life when we met up at the Tate Modern to talk over the rough manuscript of my first story collection,” he says. Page told him in detail what worked, and what didn’t: “Until that point I’d just been producing as much as possible, trying out everything in every possible direction. Ra helped prune away all the weak branches so I could concentrate growth in the fruit-bearing ones.” He laughs. “I don’t know much about gardening. I hope that metaphor holds up.” It was the beginning of a fruitful relationship with Comma, to appropriate Marek’s metaphor. He describes them as “brilliant to work with,” praising them because “they specialise in the short story and so they really know the form and what it can do.” A small list means they can focus on high production values, and “they’re very hands on during the editing process,” he says. “If you look at the writers they’ve published in anthologies or single author collections, you’ll see those names coming up again and again in the big story awards.” Marek namechecks fellow Comma authors including Blasim, David Constantine, Toby Litt, Sarah Hall, and Kate Clanchy, amongst others. He also praises Comma’s “inventive briefs” for their anthologies: “Through Comma commissions I’ve spent time with a nano-scientist, a genetic engineer and someone who studies exploding stars

Photo: Andy Hay

Interview: Bram E. Gieben

“No one wants to read about fully functioning utopias. We read to see characters in conflict with themselves and their environments” Adam Marek

and then written a story inspired by their work. Right now I’m working on a new story commission for Comma which involves attending an artificial intelligence conference in Sicily.” Marek, like so many of the new generation of young writers, still has to do other work to pay the bills. He works as a copywriter, but this gives him “full creative freedom... you can write whatever you want to write until you tether the need to make a living from it.” He has begun work

BOOKS

on a novel, traditionally a slightly more financially rewarding market than the short story one. At the recent Festival of the European Short Story, he met graphic novelist Karrie Fransman: “Chatting with her about graphic novels reawakened the part of me that loves to draw and paint and make marks, so I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently,” he reveals. “I feel hungry to do something graphic. It’s just a case of finding the right idea and getting over the hurdle of self-consciousness about being a clumsy beginner again in a new field.” One thing is certain – in the field of short stories, Marek has become a modern master in the space of two collections. Combining thrilling speculative fiction tropes that recall Philip K. Dick or J.G. Ballard with a gut-wrenching emotional intensity, they mark him out as one of the UK’s most promising young writers. Speaking about his novel again, he shows precisely why his stories are so effective. He has integrity. “In an ideal world,” he says, “the idea chooses the form, not the writer’s inner marketing team.” An admirable statement from a writer who has chosen to depict worlds that are far from ideal. The Stone Thrower is out now, published by Comma Press www.commapress.co.uk www.adammarek.co.uk

THE SKINNY

September 2013

Have the of your

Tyne

Life

Rouse your creative senses with a cultural city break in NewcastleGateshead this autumn. See the exceptional works of Thomas Scheibitz at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and view the best of film in the lovingly restored art deco Tyneside Cinema. Listen to the outstanding acoustics of Sage Gateshead where you’ll really hear the brilliance of world-class musicians in high definition. We’ve got plenty of shopping hidden gems for you to sniff out too. And you’re guaranteed to feel the warmth of Geordie hospitality on a crisp autumnal evening. Come and sample our impeccable taste!

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Sage Gateshead – hearing in HD

You can go and see musicians anywhere but if you really want to hear them then it has to be at Sage Gateshead. World-class acoustics mean you have a front-row experience wherever you sit in the outstanding concert halls. Hear the best this autumn – Huey Lewis and the News, Paloma Faith, Bryan Ferry, Jamie Cullum, Alison Moyet, Kate Rusby not to mention Sage Gateshead’s newly honoured orchestra ‘Royal Northern Sinfonia’ and a star-studded roster of guests who join them for the 13/14 Classical Season.

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Safety in Numbers

September sees the official launch of 2|1|4|1, the latest graduate collective formed in a bid to counter the famously poor career prospects of artists. We speak to the founding members about their plans

new collective have formed under the name 2|1|4|1 and they’re on a quest to banish all of those post-art school lows and woes. A crosscountry initiative, they’ve got some fairly strong opinions on art education, real life in the art world and enlisting others to help you carve your own path through the jungle. The founding members recently shared the full brief on their beginnings, philosophies and plans for the future… In May 2013 three initial members – themselves alumni of Glasgow School of Art and Gray’s School of Art – produced a manifesto and set out to find like-minded individuals to join them in their mission to alter the flow of opportunities and information in the notoriously hazy, post-graduation art world. Their manifesto – like many of their predecessors’ – states a commitment to bridging the gap between graduation and a sustainable career in the arts. Their values indicate a demand for transparency and a desire to implement a go-to support system for all fresh graduates and early-career artists. Things will kick off with a full launch weekend on 5-8 September at Glasgow’s SWG3, where the focal point will be a members’ exhibition – set to become an annual occurrence. The newly amassed body of members is made up of Frances Lightbound, Rosie Roberts, Kirsty Macleod, Alexander Millar, Catriona Meighan, Nick Thomas, Lauren McLaughlin, Jack Farrell, Joanna Peace, Sam De Santis, Silja Strøm, Kenneth Davidson and Rachel Gallacher. They’re keeping quiet as yet about what the work will be, but it will span performance, painting, photography, sculpture and sound installation. The Thursday night’s opening will slip into an after party at the Poetry Club, while Saturday will see a series of events including artist talks and guest speakers. GSA lecturers Craig Mulholland and Alistair Payne will be ‘in conversation’ on

Interview: Emma Ewan

various aspects of the Scottish emerging art scene. The topic of debate being opportunities for early-career artists, they will be picking at the bones of what new artists need now. With the show open all day every day for the duration of the weekend and invigilated by the members themselves, people are actively encouraged to drop in for a chat. This aligns with their ‘face-to-a-name’ ethos that challenges the way established artists can be inaccessible as ‘real people.’ In a bid to disarm the myth, you will soon find images and profiles of all the members on their website. The website will be the centre of their activities, with members regularly venturing out and reporting back on shows they’ve seen and artists they’ve interviewed to create an ever-expanding collection of content that can be accessed by anyone online. Embracing the free movement of information offered by the internet, the main aim of the website is to encourage discourse and to join up people who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to connect. They believe that each of the nation’s cities blessed with an art school are operating too disparately and it’s one of their fundamental goals to connect the Scottish art hubs in a way that isn’t happening now. Longer-term, they want to back up their online content with activities in a physical space. Plans for the future include curatorial projects and a drop-in open studio setup that gives an insight into the realities of day-to-day work as an artist. With all activities orbiting an ethos of collaboration, communication and contribution, workshops and visits to art schools are also on the agenda. In order to broaden the reach and scope of the collective, they hope their next intake will see an influx of members from the north of Scotland. 2|1|4|1’s endeavours bring to our attention

Catriona Meighan

Frances Lightbound

September 2013

a wider picture; they raise questions about whether art schools really prepare their students for life on the other side. There’s a suggestion that art schools idealise life as ‘the artist’ and shy away from sharing advice on how to sustain an artistic practise in the early days. Right enough, it’s not often mentioned that you might have to work in a café six nights a week on minimum wage just to pay the rent on your flat, never mind your studio. And on top of that any spare time you actually do have is going to be spent hunched over a computer getting square eyes from all those applications you’re writing – so you’ll be lucky to find any time to actually make any work in that lovely studio that you can’t afford. The onslaught of council tax and other real-life commitments means you’ll do pretty much anything short of loitering on street corners to fund this art habit of

ART

yours, but the cold hard truth of it is that in year one of pursuing your art career extraordinaire, there are going to be some compromises. If that all sounds like a bit of a nightmare then you are in luck – 2|1|4|1 are going to lay all the facts out in nice readable info-bites for your timely digestion. Good resources for new graduates do exist out there in the cyber sphere but what 2|1|4|1 are trying to drive is a more grassroots network of ‘real people’ here in Scotland. There’s one message radiating from this collective and others like it: make your own opportunities and you can’t really go wrong. If you don’t feel like there’s a platform out there for you, make one. 2|1|4|1 launch, 5-8 Sep, SWG3

Feature

Sound and Vision

Five albums, a relentless touring schedule, a film score and a confusing name have not dulled the fire in 65daysofstatic’s belly. Paul Wolinski gives voice to an instrumental band

Photo: Danielle Maibaum

Interview: John Nugent

hy are 65daysofstatic called 65daysofstatic? It’s a curious name: all lowercase, no spaces, at face value a nonsense assemblage of letters and numbers. And for a singer-less, instrumental band – gleefully noisy but musically speechless – it engenders a certain air of mystique. Peruse the internet and you will glean all manner of theories on its origins, plenty conspiratorial. There’s a claim that it comes from a long-forgotten John Carpenter film which never saw release. Another hypothesis points towards experiments conducted by the US Army in the 1960s, where it was supposedly found that 65 days of white noise is enough time to render a person insane. One internet forum user was convinced, beyond all reasonable doubt, that “65 days of static” were the final words of one Adolf Hitler. “Oh God...” says 65days guitarist/keyboardist/knob twiddler Paul Wolinski, when The Skinny poses the question. He sighs, perhaps weary of being asked, perhaps reticent to give the full account, perhaps concerned that – as a bandmate has said in the past – it’s “perceived as having an unfortunate air of pretension about it.” “There’s so many stories...”, Wolinski finally says. “The one that’s closest to the truth is the story about the CIA.” In 1954, as part of America’s ongoing ideological crusade against the Reds, the CIA staged a coup d’état in Guatemala, overthrowing the then supposed communist government. They dropped leaflets from planes, hid speakers on rooftops, and jammed radio frequencies. They convinced a populace that a regime change was essential, and installed a puppet leader friendly to American business interests. The whole undertaking took just over two months. The crude observation among agents at the time was that it took just 65 days of static radio noise to depose a leader and destabilise a society. “That’s not entirely where the name came from,” Wolinski semi-confirms, “but it’s pretty close.” Elaborate backstories like this chime well for a band admired for their healthy anti-establishment undercurrent. With no lyrics to analyse, fans (known sometimes as ‘65kids’) have picked

Feature

apart song and album titles with the forensic scrutiny of a crime scene investigator; their analysis obliquely suggests politics, righteous anger, even the apocalypse. The first track from new album Wild Light, for example, alludes to the heat death of the universe; the album’s press notes describe it as “sad dance music to be danced to at the end of the world – a possibility that seems increasingly likely.” Is there a deliberate tack to make music with a political edge? “I’d like it to be open to interpretation,” says Wolinski. “‘Political’ is a bit of a tricky word. We certainly all pay attention to what’s going in the world, and there’s plenty to be angry about. But we do have a problem with politics and music because it’s so easy to come across as preachy and a bit too earnest. Writing records probably isn’t the best form to articulate the problems – you should become a campaigner or activist if you really want to try and push those messages, and that’s not what we’re good at. What we’re good at is making a lot of noise.” 65daysofstatic have certainly made a fair old din since forming in Sheffield at the turn of the millennium. They trade primarily in guitars and electronics: urgent symphonies of syncopated riffs and raging billows of grunge, offset against ferociously swift rhythms and complex, glitchy electronica. They’re meticulous, experimental, and unique. They’ve been variously labelled math rock, post rock, electronica, indie-electro, IDMhardcore, neo-prog, rocktronica – each fabricated subgenre more contrived than the last. Their esoteric sound, to use an overused phrase, defies definition. But their music has never been just about making as much noise as possible. “For us, music is another act of communication. We want to communicate our reaction to the kind of things that are happening in the world – but we just don’t want to do that in a cheesy way or a pretentious way. We should be doing that in an honest way.” If the aim was to communicate a sense of unease with the current state of the world, Wild Light delivers. It opens with a disquieting sample of a woman repeating the words: “No one knows

what is happening...” before audaciously assailing into the apocalyptic dance music we were pledged. The effect is challenging and original. A conscious effort has been made to “lift the overall production” on album number five; Wolinski talks animatedly of how a drum section on the track Sleepwalk City was sent on a bewildering sonic pilgrimage – looped, sampled, sent back through amplifiers and sampled again, and beyond. But despite this intense, probing approach to recording, 65daysofstatic are, first and foremost, a live act. “We do make that distinction,” Wolinski acknowledges. “We definitely see ourselves at our most effective as a live band. Obviously, we try very hard to make great records as well. The hardest thing has been to find the balance.” For a band so intrinsically intertwined with technology, the journey from the studio to the stage can often be murky. Previous albums, teeming with sophisticated electronica, proved tricky to translate to a live sphere. The initial outlook with Wild Light was to write songs that could be performed live, as recorded – but the studio sessions changed that plan. “It sounds weird explaining it,” Wolinski

“Every on-screen explosion had its own explosion of music. It kind of drove us crazy” Paul Wolinski

says, “but it feels like the record isn’t necessarily the definitive version of any of those songs. They’ve been through so many different variations and we soon realised that what we needed to do was catch the right snapshot that worked best on record.”

MUSIC

Each gig, then, is singular and unique, an unrepeatable impression. Theirs is an intense stage presence, hitting bombastic decibels with mathematical precision. They are frequent collaborators with audio-visual artists Medlo, the fruits of which included a recent live installation at Sheffield’s Millenium Gallery. And in 2011, they wrote a new score for obscure 1970s sci-fi movie Silent Running, commissioned by (and performed live at) Glasgow Film Festival. “It was wonderful,” Wolinski says of the experience. A dystopian, post-apocalyptic yarn, Silent Running proved a comfortable fit; the band’s love for dramatic crescendos and boisterous musical flare-ups lent itself well to the incidental essence of soundtracking. The technical challenge of tightly matching music to the edit, however, was “...absolutely insane. Every on-screen explosion had its own explosion of music. It kind of drove us crazy.” They’ve expressed a hope to write more soundtracks in the future; for now, the focus is on a punishing world tour. After our conversation, Wolinski heads back into the rehearsal room ahead of multiple dates in Europe and beyond (“there’s so much more that’s not even been announced yet – it’s going to be insane”). They’re Sheffield-based, and “probably always will be,” but don’t feel anchored to the north: “the rise of the internet has allowed weird alternative underground bands to have global audiences – even if it’s just pockets of fans around the world.” Fundamentally, 65daysofstatic are dedicated to their live shows, making them as visceral as possible, taking their show as far afield as they physically can, articulating ideas through noise. “I guess it’s just because the type of music we make works best when it’s loud and there’s no escape from it – and when there’s a communication, a tangible communication, between us and the audience.” A pause. “That’s when it all seems to make sense.” Wild Light is released on 16 Sep via Superball Music. 65daysofstatic play The Liquid Room, Edinburgh on 22 Sep www.65daysofstatic.com

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‘The sort of festival people get possessive about’ – The Guardian

WIGTOWN BOOK FESTIVAL 27TH SEPTEMBER - 6TH OCTOBER 2013

More than 180 events for adults, young people and children www.wigtownbookfestival.com 01988 403222 Charity No. SCO37984

September 2013

Paradigm Shift: Now Turn the Page Of all the industries going through the current paradigm shifts driven by technological change, the book publishing industry is perhaps the most affected, and the most threatened

he Scottish writer Ewan Morrison, who recently began a satirical, dystopian series on the future of publishing for the Guardian, believes the restructuring of distribution networks, the rise of self-publishing, and increasingly generic, franchised notions of ‘content’ supplanting literature and culture have engaged the publishing world in a “race to the bottom.” “We’ve been taught how to behave like ‘masses’ since the birth of consumerism. People want to consume the same things,” he argues. People “didn’t even bother to read their copies of 50 Shades of Grey.” Those in the top echelons of publishing are earning more than ever, while emerging and niche concerns are going broke. The ‘long tail’ model, proposed by Chris Anderson in a 2004 article for Wired, has failed. “There’s no smooth transition from that to things that sell smaller numbers – there’s a sudden drop. That notion that there would be healthy niche markets within the long tail internet model has collapsed. The paradigm shift has not overthrown the notion of receiving singular products of mass culture.” Does the future resemble the dystopia of Morrison’s Guardian piece, with fan fiction and franchise spin-offs dominating culture while new writers and publishers fall off what he calls “the de-monetised cliff”? Or does the rise of self-publishing and online retail merely offer new opportunities; a more democratic route to audiences?

NAVIGATING THE AMAZON

any of the authors we spoke to were devastatingly critical of Amazon’s business model. Amazon control around 75% of the UK book market, but complaints about the discounting of books and the de-monetisation of literature stem back to 1991, with the setting aside of the Net Book Agreement, which allowed a united publishing industry to charge a minimum price for their output. Marc Lambert, now Chief Executive at the Scottish Book Trust, worked for Waterstones in the 80s. He believes the high street model is “as good as dead... in one sense this is a pity. In another it is thoroughly deserved.” The chains “destroyed their own business model, all in the

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Interviews: Bram E. Gieben Illustrations: Emer Tumilty

name of free market thinking.” Mark Buckland, who runs the successful Glasgow-based publisher Cargo Press, agrees. “What we had before was an equilibrium where everybody got paid a fair amount. Should we bring it back? Maybe. Are we ever going to be able to? No. As soon as the supermarkets get involved, that is over as an idea.” The accusation that Amazon care more about profit than culture is almost impossible to refute, but Christopher Brookmyre, several of whose novels have been bestsellers, is a little more generous: “Amazon are always going to be drawn to something that is guaranteed to sell in large volume. I don’t think it’s therefore the case that they think it doesn’t matter about building up a readership around a particular author. They’ll be aware themselves that if there are a million books out there, and nobody knows if any of them are any good, people might not buy any at all.” Doug Johnstone, also a thriller writer, has seen benefits from Amazon sales, but finds the implications alarming. The problem is “they have a stranglehold on publishing. Both of my last two novels were Kindle ‘deals of the day’ and they both sold more in that day than all my other books combined, for my entire career – at 99p. I got 25% of whatever Faber got from Amazon. It’s staggering.” Ra Page, editor and publisher at Manchester-based Comma Press, tends to side with Morrison. “Not satisfied with thrashing the high street, they want to thrash publishers as well. They want a publishing industry that amounts to a virtual warehouse, that they own. No publishers, no editors. Just Amazon.” Buckland offers an insight into policy at the highest levels of Amazon: “They are not interested in retail. Why? Because they’ve already won. They are moving into crazy stuff now, like virtual offices, cloud computing, real estate.” He sadly believes the high street retail model is “just not sustainable, when the competition can deliver the same product direct to your door the next day.” His vision of the future is similarly grim: “There will come a day when a bookshop is just a giant print-on-demand machine in a

supermarket.” With print-on-demand, self-published ebooks and direct delivery via Amazon increasingly dominating the market, is there another way of looking at the internet distribution model? One that could perhaps accommodate a healthy and competitive publishing culture, rather than the emergent monoculture suggested by the recent merger of Penguin and Random House? “The only fix for this is a larger economic paradigm shift,” suggests Morrison, otherwise “the big media corporations are going to synergise across music, books, films. You will have an even more entrenched, exclusionary mainstream, and the rest of it will be this kind of hopeful fishing around the bottom.” Buckland, who recently enjoyed being treated as a whipping boy for the publishing industry at an Edinburgh Book Festival panel on ‘Writers in a Digital Age’ offers a few chinks of light. “We’re at a weird crossroads now,” he says. “The whole publishing industry is fracturing, at every level – from writers, to publishers, to distributors, to the bookstores themselves. Niches are becoming more and more prominent.” The sense that niche markets would emerge to replace mainstream literary movements and markets is an attractive one, which Morrison strongly refutes. But if these niches are going to thrive, will it be only through the support of publishers like Cargo? Will a new equilibrium emerge in the ever-growing, direct-to-market micro-industry grouped under the previously reviled term of ‘self-publishing?’

DO IT YOURSELF

any if not most people in the publishing industry hold a dismissive view of the growth of self-publishing – and not, as popular belief might suggest, out of a sense of elitism or snobbery. Rather, their skepticisim is based on the statistics. The best Adrian Searle, head of independent publisher Freight Books, can offer is that occasionally, the vast ocean of self-published work now extant can be viewed as “a kind of crowd-sourced slush pile.” The signal to noise ratio has increased, and often it is hard to find work of quality. “If you

Books

browse Amazon looking only at the books that are 50 pence, you could be browsing for hours before you find something that’s even worth that,” says Brookmyre. “If a writer achieves some good sales as a self-published Kindle author, you would hope that that they might then end up at a publishing house, where they’ll get the benefit of editorial advice that will nurture their abilities.” Brookmyre’s argument underlines the fact that the success of writers like E.L. James, author of 50 Shades of Grey (the UK’s best-selling book last year, shifting 10.5 million units, outpacing her nearest competitors by a cool 8 million) is something of a shibboleth – although their viral success began on Amazon, they had to move to a traditional publisher to achieve the kind of volume and quality control that transformed them into worldwide bestsellers. On this point, Morrison’s views are excoriating: “There are really only about five people in the world who’ve done well out of self-publishing. Of those five, four have used it as a platform to get a mainstream deal. That is fundamentally different from the digital utopian premise of ‘life beyond the publishing houses.’” This jumping-ship is, he says, “a betrayal of the digital dream,” and “leaves what remains in the long tail of self-publishing devalued. It then becomes relatively cheap, amateur content that no-one’s looking at.” Lambert’s analysis is plausible – the E.L. James phenomenon means “what used to be seen as an exercise in vanity is now seen as a canny, businesslike approach to being read and getting paid for it.” This gives rise to “chaotic excess, which eventually will need to be mediated by... a certain kind of product at a certain kind of standard. That is the opportunity for established, historically reputable publishers to find their way in this market.” “It reminds me of the punk explosion,” says Brookmyre. “It was very empowering, there was something democratic about it. But there weren’t that many bands who were any good, or whose work has endured. I’m frequently appalled at how badly [self-published books] are written. People need to understand the value of professional editorial advice.” Doug Johnstone, whose agent Allan Guthrie

THE SKINNY

started a digital-only imprint Blasted Heath, is a little less cynical. “I would self-publish, I don’t have a problem with that,” he says. Since 2006, when he published his first novel, he has seen a huge shift in attitudes towards self-publishing. “It was frowned upon – it was your bampots and Hitler theorists,” he says. This has changed, but “there are brilliant self-published novels which didn’t sell a bean, and total crap that sells 50,000 copies.” Luke Wright, a poet with a background on the spoken word and performance circuit who has just published his first full-length page collection with Penned In The Margins, can see why people entertain the notion of self-publishing. “I can go out and sell 1000 books a year,” he says. “So why don’t I just do my own book? It’s not like it’s not professional – I work with an editor. But if the majority of your sales are coming from live gigs, why give a publisher 90% of the money?” Wright set up Nasty Little Press rather than going solo via Amazon or similar platforms. For Brookmyre, “these are exciting times, despite the logistical problems.” Although he remains “far from convinced” by the self-publishing boom, he believes there are opportunities to be had, especially for small presses who can cater to niche needs. Mark Buckland agrees, and he considers Cargo to be a publisher that actively pursues niche markets. “Niche is a dirty word, and it shouldn’t be,” he says. “The niches are where we will try and do cross-platform stuff. The media of our time are TV, film and the internet, so you have to penetrate into that.” However, unlike with music and some film content, opportunities for sync deals are few and far between. “Books don’t lend themselves to an instantly-disposable culture,” Buckland laments. “If you release an album and one track is sold to advertise a car, you’ve pretty much just made your living out of it. You can’t do that with words. As publishers, we are going to have to get a lot smarter about how we bundle content together. We have to create offers the public actually want to buy. There will have to be more partnerships and collaborations. You share the risk a little.”

SUSTAINABILITY

ehind Mark Buckland’s comments about niche markets, there is a deeper message – firstly, that if writers and publishers are to survive the paradigm shift, they must create content which people want to buy. Secondly, and more worryingly, something must be done to support the creatives in the field. “The writing has been on the wall for professional writing for some time,” Buckland believes. “The average earning for a professional writer in the UK is £3000. That’s a

September 2013

terrifying statistic. At the same time, there were 16 authors in the US last year who earned more than $12 million. The gulf is the problem.” This ties in to Ewan Morrison’s comments: “This is a much harsher world than the one I grew up in. I’ve managed to sustain myself as a creative person across different forms since about the age of 20, working in TV, journalism, film and publishing. I’ve noticed a decline in all of these industries, in terms of being able to have a living wage. TV is still healthy. Look at the BBC – they’ve got a poll tax, basically, and we’re subsidising it.” The key to the BBC’s ability, and that of US TV companies, to pay writers a living wage is that “they have a subscriber base.” For Morrison at least, “that is really the answer to some of the problems that we’re facing.” “Three or four years ago, says Morrison, “across the board, every single writer I know suffered an 80 percent drop in their advances.” The result? “A mass exodus into teaching.” At an event during this year’s Edinburgh Book Festival, the authors Toby Litt and Rachel Cusk described how much of their income comes from teaching on creative writing courses at universities. A.L. Kennedy, also on the panel, confessed she would have mixed feelings about doing the same, saying such courses are “ripping off people’s dreams.” Morrison strongly agrees: “There are thousands of people in the UK who are never going to be published who are doing these courses.” Adrian Searle of Freight Books has publicly advocated state-funded stipends for the most talented writers, and believes “literature is the only artform where practitioners aren’t paid properly to do their thing.” He points out that much classical music, dance and theatre is almost entirely state-funded: “The fact that so few writers get even half a living wage is a national scandal.” However, he also believes “poets, novelists and story-writers don’t automatically deserve to write full-time. Writers have always had to do other things. How many writers from the 80s wrote fulltime unless they had a private income?” Marc Lambert’s advice for aspiring writers is pragmatic: “The truth is, it is very difficult indeed to make a living from the craft.” Asked if he sees the Trust’s role more as a necessary means of support for emerging writers, or a potential crutch for literary writers who don’t make many sales, he hedges his bets. It should be “both, but always on a case by case individual basis which identifies and privileges talent.” Brookmyre argues convincingly for the notion of cross-funding: “There are decisions taken at publishers to publish an autobiography of a boyband who are all only 21. But they know the money they will take in from that will help them

take risks on new, first time novelists.” One model which hasn’t been widely used in book publishing, at least so far, is crowdfunding, now an integral part of the business practice of record labels and film studios. But Ewan Morrison says this model is “just a slightly more democratic form of patronage. It's a sideline, a surrogate and a patch-up job for an industry in trouble.” Unlike musicians, who can still bring in revenue from touring, many authors find it difficult to find writing-related revenue streams, other than teaching. Even Luke Wright, who was making money from performance long before he published a book, confesses that the money to be made from performance is far from a king’s ransom. Like the novelists we spoke to, the poets he knows “don’t make their money from gigs, they make their money through education.” As for the notion that creative writing courses are a tax on the creative and ambitious, he chuckles and says: “We all pay for our dreams, in one way or another. I pay for my dreams in belly fat and sleep deprivation.”

SINKING LIKE A STONE?

“I

am sad that bookshops are vanishing,” says short story writer Adam Marek. “Browsing in bookshops is the best way to discover new books. Recommendations from Amazon’s algorithms can’t come close.” He predicts that “bookshops will continue to exist as a specialist shop, like the rare tobacconists, for at least the next 60 years, until every member of my generation, the last to reach adulthood without the internet, is dead.” Adrian Searle believes “indies will fill the gap on the high street,” and says “supporting indie bookshops is vital for the culture... They should get the same tax breaks as charity shops.” Brookmyre meanwhile says the failure of high street bookshops would be “utterly disastrous,” and is wary of the rise of e-book formats. “I wouldn’t like to think of books becoming this purely ethereal thing, rendered purely in software,” he says. “From toddlerhood upwards, it's a very important and empowering experience to be taken into a bookshop.” Buckland laments the fact that independent bookshops can be unreliable when it comes to paying accounts, and says that Cargo depends on the high street chains: “If there was a strong alliance of independent bookshops, one that could push publishers and distributors around, yes that would be a lot healthier. But they would still be a minority buyer.” He estimates that the loss of the major chains would cost his company as much as 90% of their business. For Doug Johnstone, the solution is for the chains to “mimic” independent stores: “You have

BOOKS

to trust their staff to recommend stuff to you. But they have been really slow to react,” he says, adding: “Hell mend them if they don’t adapt.”

CONTENT OR LITERATURE?

one of the publishers or authors were prepared to dismiss e-books as a fad, or to declaim them as the ‘death of the novel.’ Mark Buckland is enthusiastic about the possibilities of ‘enhanced content’ e-books, even though he agrees with Ra Page that for now, they are something of a novelty. However, the rise of the e-book has brought with it another phenomenon – the increasing popularity of fan fiction, cross-platform spin-offs, and franchises. “Things like Twilight are synergised commodities,” says Ewan Morrison. “The internet was supposed to liberate us into greater pluralism, a wider diversity. What’s happened is, yes there’s more diversity, but it has become de-monetised.” He warns of a situation where new art is worth nothing – franchises are all that sell, and fan fiction becomes increasingly legitimised. “We’ve become culturally impoverished. Hopefully people are going to wake up to the political reality of what’s going on here – I don’t want to spend the next ten or twenty years in this endless desert of cultural recycling.” What hope can Morrison offer? He speaks of a need for a “shakedown” from “beyond the culture industries themselves,” quoting Russia Today economist Max Keiser’s theory on the “looming sovereign debt crisis which is going to decimate the Western economies.” Morrison believes “it’s coming pretty soon... initially it will only make things worse, because we’ll all be plunged into further debt, and we won’t want to spend any money on culture at all. We have to gear our minds up – we have to have strategies for dealing with the collapse.” For Morrison, the solution to the de-monetised cliff, and the improvement of the selfpublishing sector is the same. “It’s time for the radical thinkers who put so much thought into how the internet revolution could be different to take an appraisal.” As publishers, writers and booksellers across the industry struggle to process changes continuing to engulf their working lives, and the un-regulated ‘brave new world’ of self-publishing continues to evolve and thrive, only one thing is certain in the grips of this paradigm shift – from here on out, the only constant is change. Ewan Morrison has been shortlisted for the Scottish Mortgage investment Trust Novel of the year With thanks to Ryan Rushton, Ewan Morrison, Mark Buckland and the Edinburgh International Book Festival for advice, research and support

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Going Places

Ahead of her appearance at SWG3 in Glasgow, internationally revered DJ Cassy aka Catherine Britton discusses her recent Fabric mix, her approach to DJing and her continually itchy feet

“I

t just takes a little more confidence and a little more patience.” Reflecting on the honing of her DJing style over the years, Catherine Britton, better known as Cassy, speaks with the quiet conviction of an artist who has found her own rhythm and begun to fully revel in taking her own approach. With the release of a mixed compilation for influential London-based club and label Fabric last month, Britton has further established herself as one of the most respected DJs around – not that she wasn’t a considerable presence already. Resident at Berlin’s famed Panorama Bar since 2006, and also finding time to take up regular slots at the similarly revered Rex Club in Paris and Amsterdam’s Trouw, Cassy is a name which has long appeared in the most credible rankings of the top DJs in the world. It seems only fitting that she can now add a prized release for the British clubbing institution to her list of accolades. “I think it completes something in my DJ life,” she admits. “We tried to find a time when I could have done it before so, now that I’ve finally done it, it feels really good. It means a lot to me because I’ve played in the club for many years and Craig [Richards] and Judy [Griffith] mean a lot to me, as do the people who come to club. The whole thing is something special because it’s so incredible how a big, commercial club can have so many people playing such amazing music. It’s really just about music and nothing else and that’s always been something that’s really touched me about Fabric.” Never short of options in the mix, whether playing to huge rooms in Ibiza or to intimate gatherings of discerning clubbers in underground clubs across the world, you would expect Cassy to be well-attuned to getting the vibe right. Yet, one wonders if the task of whittling down her considerable music collection, for the purposes of producing a mix of just over an hour, poses

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Interview: Ronan Martin

any selection problems. “It comes together more easily in the end,” she explains. “You are doing it for a particular label or a club or for an occasion, so that kind of narrows down the pool a little bit. The background of Fabric is music. So it’s really cool, you can actually dig really deep and choose pieces you might not be able to choose for anything else.” The mix itself, the 71st in a long-running and varied series, finds Cassy at first delving into rich, meditative house in the form of opener, Tune In by Arttu, and the Late Night Creeper remix of Norm Talley’s Tell Me. More robust cuts from the likes of Basic Soul Unit, Affie Yusuf and Losoul follow, bringing a steady progression in intensity over the course of the hour. There are also a few moments of blinding atmosphere – Benjamin Damage’s 010x in particular seems perfectly suited to the kind of moment in Panorama Bar, around early afternoon, when the window shutters flicker open, flooding the dancefloor with concentrated shards of natural light. That her recorded mixes almost feel like condensed versions, snapshots of the kind of extended club set Cassy has mastered in her time in residence at Panorama Bar, is no coincidence. Both the club and its atmosphere have no doubt been central to Britton’s development. “It’s a very exceptional club and a very exceptional situation,” she says. “It’s the perfect party place for a bit more of a grown up raving public. “As a DJ, the most important thing you can have is a residency in a club and a dancefloor; a

“Life tried to make me settle down but it couldn’t” DJ Cassy

space that you keep on returning to. If you have that, you know how you sound in a room; you know how to build things up. You get a completely different feel for DJing because you are returning to a place and you have control over what you’re doing. Your choice will become different and your style of playing will develop. After many years, such a place is in your body and in your system. It’s a great feeling and it gives you a lot of confidence as a DJ. I guess Panorama Bar done that for me and helped me be the DJ I am today. So I have a really strong connection with the club and the people. “At the same time, it’s in a place that I lived in and had a life in. I was married in Berlin and I left all of that behind. So, the city is in my past, in a sense. But the club is still in my life. When I go to Berlin, I go to Panorama Bar. Even when I wasn’t feeling at home in Berlin at all anymore, the club was still my home.” Born in Kingston-Upon-Thames before moving with her parents to Vienna in Austria, Cassy’s career has seen her continue to travel all over the world – though one suspects she would find a way to do so under any set of circumstances. Having lived short spells in London, Berlin and Vienna, with summer life spent in Ibiza, Cassy seems to revel as much in travelling as she does in exploring music of all varieties. Speaking to us from Paris, her satisfaction with the path she has taken is palpable. “I think it’s something that I can be extremely grateful for,” she reflects. “It makes me really happy to listen to as much different music as possible and to travel to as many different places as possible, eat different food, see different people, just to constantly remind myself that the world is a big place and that we’re all different. It just energises me; I get back a lot of creative energy and just energy in general. I would hate to be in one place all the time – I would probably die! Life tried to make me settle down but it couldn’t, so now I just give in

CLUBS

to the fact that I have to go wherever I have to go.” There is a restlessness at the heart of Britton, keeping her on the move and interacting with a world of new stimuli all the time. You might expect her to be a fidgety or over-animated character. Yet, in conversation and as a DJ, Cassy conducts herself with noteable grace and poise. She takes time in expressing herself and transmits a placid enthusiasm which is difficult not to warm to. Her strength behind the decks lies in her ability to select carefully and her mixes are allowed to blossom, uncluttered by flashy effects and unimpaired by rushed transitions. “I have found my own way of expressing myself for the dancefloor,” she says. “When it comes to music and records, I think you can’t get any better. Effects and so on are not going to make the track better and it’s not going to make the music reach out to people more. On the contrary, it actually limits what the music can tell people.” Though she has made her name primarily as a touring DJ, Cassy has also amassed a considerable back catalogue of her own productions. She has released tracks for the likes of Perlon and Uzuri, as well as on her own self-titled imprint. But with her most recent record being released in 2010, it would seem her desire to be on the move has somewhat slowed the pace of her output, temporarily at least. With upcoming plans involving starting her own party in London in November, spending time in Switzerland with friends and preparing for yet another move, one wonders if we are likely to hear more of her own music any time soon. “As soon as I have a place that I’m going to be spending a little bit more time in, I’ll have my own little studio somewhere,” she says. “It’s just not the time for that yet. I started working on music this summer in Ibiza actually, and even before, so I guess... we’re going somewhere, yeah.” Cassy plays for Tic Tac Toe at SWG3, Glasgow on Fri 6 Sep

THE SKINNY

September 2013

10t–o2be0r Oc

2013

nal Festival io t a N ’s y le is a P Admiral Fallow and The l Twilight Sad with the Roya Scottish National Orchestra Edwyn Collins Capercaillie

Craig Hill – Tartan About! Rachel Sermanni leod

with special guest Colin Mac

Fred MacAulay

THREE WEEKS OF HANDPICKED ARTISTS CURATED BY SCOTLAND’S FAVOURITE PROMOTERS

10 OCTOBER / LIST LIVE & PLEASANCE SESSIONS

MIAOUX MIAOUX / JONNIE COMMON / CAIRN STRING QUARTET 11 OCTOBER / GERRY LOVES RECORDS

JOHN KNOX SEX CLUB / OVER THE WALL / SPECIAL GUESTS 12 OCTOBER / THE SKINNY

RICK REDBEARD / SIOBHAN WILSON / SPECIAL GUESTS

For line up and ticket info visit

.uk www.thespree.co 844 044 4 Book online or phone: 084 4

Running alongside the Royal National Mòd – Scotland’s premier celebration of Gaelic language and culture. .org slig www.modphai

Fence Records presents:

The Pictish Trail & Friends Chemikal Underground Records presents:

oux, Loch Lomond

Emma Pollock, Miaoux Mia

in Phil Cunningham and Aly Ba slie Ain ss Ro in concert with and Jarlath Henderson Donnie Munro dy The Best of Scottish Come

nd Comedy Club

in association with The Sta

Horse

Dàimh & Special Guests Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

nd Comedy Club

in association with The Sta

Mànran The Final Fling featuring:

ora

Breabach, Amelia Curran, Wai & Andrew Howie

events Plus more music and comedy mme and a full children’s progra

13 OCTOBER / PLEASANCE SESSIONS

FILM SCREENING - SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN 16 OCTOBER / PLEASANCE SESSIONS

COMEDY WITH ABANDOMAN 17 OCTOBER / INSTINCTIVE RACOON

THE PICTISH TRAIL & FRIENDS 18 OCTOBER / INSIDER FESTIVAL

AIDAN O’ROURKE (LAU) / POPPY ACKROYD 19 OCTOBER / SONG, BY TOAD

ROB ST JOHN / ADAM STAFFORD / IAN HUMBERSTONE 20 OCTOBER / PLEASANCE SESSIONS

SPOKEN WORD WITH HOWARD MARKS 20 OCTOBER / PLEASANCE SESSIONS

FILM SCREENING - IN BRUGES 23 OCTOBER / PLEASANCE SESSIONS

COMEDY WITH CHRIS RAMSEY 24 OCTOBER / LIMBO

CONQUERING ANIMAL SOUND / LITTLE BUDDHA / PLUM / ENGINE 7 25 OCTOBER / INSTINCTIVE RACOON

THREE BLIND WOLVES / SPECIAL GUESTS 26 OCTOBER / SONG, BY TOAD

SPARROW & THE WORKSHOP / THE LEG / PLASTIC ANIMALS / NAKED / LE THUG

THE SKINNY

The Art of Letting Go Interview: Chris Buckle Photography: Vito Andreoni

After a duo of acclaimed records inspired by loss and reconnections, RM Hubbert explains why third solo album Breaks & Bone is about moving on

f there’s one label RM Hubbert doesn’t want applied to his delicate, sad, soothing, searing, subtle, turbulent music, it’s ‘wanky’. It’s an epithet he extends towards the majority of flamenco guitarists, all virtuoso flair and no feeling. “I learned just enough flamenco techniques to know I didn’t want to play it anymore,” he says of the period in which he forged his trademark sound – a sound that’s always astonishingly proficient but never, ever wanky. “I was really interested in the structures – it’s very strict but it sounds totally freeform. And I love the primal urgency of really early flamenco. But I realised quite quickly that, melodically, it was really dull to me.” He pauses to take part in some playful selfquestioning. “I’ve got this fear of being a fucking middle-aged white guy with an acoustic guitar, singing about his feelings,” he groans. “My worst nightmare is going to a party and someone going ‘Hubby plays guitar – here’s a guitar Hubby, play us a song!’ Occasionally I’ve been tricked into doing acoustic nights, but they’re so fucking uninspiring. They’re so…” He lets out a deflated sigh. “It’s the graveyard where music goes to die. It’s horrible. Some fucking guy singing about his fucking feelings… I don’t come from that world. I don’t like acoustic music.” He affects a look of horror. “I don’t know how I ended up doing this!” he cries. “It’s no right! Oh God…” If this is ‘no right,’ we don’t want to know what is. After 20-plus years in the Glasgow music scene – playing in bands, mixing albums, running indie labels and so-forth – Hubby’s resurgence as, well, an acoustic guitarist writing about his feelings has borne fruit generously, starting with First & Last’s emotionally charged instrumental introduction and continuing with last year’s guest-filled Thirteen Lost & Found. In June, the latter beat bookies’ favourites Django Django to the title of Scottish Album of the Year – an accolade that Hubby still seems pleasantly surprised by now (“I was very drunk by the time they announced it,” he recalls. “I wasn’t expecting to win so I was just enjoying the free whisky. It’s totally surreal”). Both nomination and win helped boost the album’s profile, but while some were busy discovering Thirteen Lost & Found for the first time, Hubby was already applying the finishing touches to its successor: third album Breaks & Bone, which arrives later this month. It’s the final part of a loose trilogy of thematically-linked albums, recapped for our benefit. “I started doing the RM Hubbert thing when my father got really ill with cancer,” Hubby explains. “I’d heard at some point that flamenco guitar was really difficult, so I decided to learn it as a way of taking my mind off things. He didn’t last much longer, and then my mother died very suddenly. And then I got a diagnosis for chronic depression which it turned out I’d had since I was about 15… So, it was a really bad few years, and I obsessively started learning flamenco guitar as a means of escape. And then after a while I realised there’s actually a huge emotional release in playing music.” Hubby used his newly acquired skills to document the period immediately after his mother died, committing himself to writing a new piece monthly. Together, these were released as First & Last. “I never really intended to play any of those songs or do anything else with it, but at some point someone talked me into it. So I started playing live again and found it was easier to talk about this stuff in the context of music. Talking about it onstage made me feel a wee bit better.” For Thirteen Lost & Found, the concept shifted from “bad things happening and my initial attempts to deal with them” to the process of

September 2013

“getting back out into the world” – starting by reviving dormant friendships. “My wife and I had split up at this point [and] I was feeling quite isolated,” Hubby continues, “so I had this idea to reconnect with old friends by going into the studio and writing music with them. Most of these people I hadn’t seen for five or ten years. So I got in touch with everyone and explained the rules: we’d go into the studio for six hours and neither of us was allowed to write anything in advance, and what we had at the end of those six hours was what we’d record.” Produced by Alex Kapranos (himself an old friend of Hubby’s going back to their teens) each song was recorded live with everyone in the same room – an approach designed to “capture that moment where we clicked again, that moment where a song naturally starts to make sense.” Breaks & Bone, meanwhile, is about “letting go, and not depending on this stuff so much for my mental wellbeing,” and stems from a 7” recorded last year but never released. “Whenever you speak to grief councillors they say that, if you feel you’re unfinished with someone, you should write them a letter and say all the things you never got a chance to say, and I’d never managed to do it. But I had this idea that I would make a 7” instead, with one side for my mum and one side for my dad. But then I didn’t want to release the record – a) because it was the most depressing record I’d ever made, and b) I still wasn’t ready. So I thought I’d try to expand upon it and turn it into an album, based on the idea of letting go of certain things – not forgetting, just moving on a wee bit.”

“I’ve got this fear of being a fucking middle-aged white guy with an acoustic guitar, singing about his feelings” RM Hubbert

Breaks & Bone is notable for being the first RM Hubbert album to feature lyrics and vocals from Hubby himself. “Right from the start I’d meant to do singing but I just couldn’t find the words when I was writing First & Last,” he states. “I’m not a good enough lyricist to cover that kind of thing when it’s so close. When I wrote the lyrics for Breaks & Bone, often they don’t mean what they sound like they mean. For example, Bolt was written as a very traditional pop song, a kind of broken relationship song, and hopefully on first listen it sounds like that. But it’s actually meant as a kind of dissection of the relationship I have with depression. It’s about how weirdly comforting it can be sometimes, when you know there’s a depressing period coming. It’s kind of like an abusive relationship, where you know it’s really bad for you, but it’s also something you’re used to. So I try to do things like that in the lyrics. I like the idea of playing with the traditional relationship tropes you get in songs, so the songs for my mother and father are actually equally applicable to – and this sounds really fucked up when I say it out loud – but they’re applicable to any kind of relationship. I like ambiguity in music; I like how your relationship can change with a piece of art

over time. Some of the songs on First & Last that were really painful at the time are now just a really nice reminder of the person. I can play them and I don’t think about death anymore.” As well as his own music, Hubby regularly guests on the projects of others. “It’s nice just being a musician sometimes,” he says of working to someone else’s brief. “I generally just improvise on those things – not out of laziness or arrogance, I’ve just always found, even with my old band El Hombre Trajeado when we got to the stage of doing overdubs, that I’m much better at just improvising it. It’s a strange one – I like recording with other people, but I don’t like playing live with other people so much. I hate other people’s input, I think that’s the problem,” he laughs. “I don’t play well with others anymore…” A recent soundtrack commission underlined this friction. “It was a pretty unsatisfying experience to be honest. I don’t take direction well. I wrote what I though was a subtle, nuanced suite of music, and they came back and said ‘can you make it funky? Can you make it scary? Can you make it happy?’ and I just thought it ended up being really trite. But again, you’re playing with someone else’s ball, you know?”

MUSIC

Right now, however, Hubby’s marching to his own beat and receiving the most success of his career – more by accident than design. “I did my first show in 1991, and released my first record in 1992, so I’ve been doing this a long time,” he observes. “And I just don’t feel the need to have people love me anymore. This is the great irony of the last few years for me: the RM Hubbert stuff is the least commercially-minded thing I’ve ever done. You don’t sit down and go: ‘It’s a guy in his mid-thirties playing instrumental flamenco music – it’s gonna be a hit!’ It’s the first thing I’d done musically where I had no concern whatsoever about what anyone else thought, and consequently it’s become the most popular. I remember talking to Alex about this – Franz Ferdinand was the band they formed because all their bands had failed and they just wanted to have fun. It was just a really honest thing, and I think people can tell. I think when people produce art honestly,” he concludes, “it’s much easier to connect with.” Breaks & Bone is released on 27 Sep via Chemikal Underground. RM Hubbert plays Edinburgh’s Electric Circus on 26 Sep and Glasgow’s St Andrews in the Square on 29 Sep www.rmhubbert.com

Feature

True Lies

Jeanie Finlay’s breakthrough film examined the plight of the independent record shop. In The Great Hip Hop Hoax, she turns her attention to Scottish hip-hoppers turned fake US rap stars, Silibil N’ Brainz

The thread of the story was the way in which her subjects’ lives began to break down under the pressure of maintaining the fantasy. “Like Billy says in the opening of the film, ‘It’s the lies about the lies about the lies about the lies.’ I had years of storytelling to unpick. It’s like unravelling a jumper. Things had been told and then re-told. I was trying to find where the truth lay, in all of that.” The film does a remarkable job of deconstructing these layers of fiction, and exposing the tragic consequences of the duo’s unlikely reinvention.

“This was a bromance that had gone horribly, horribly wrong. The lie had infected everything” Jeanie Finlay

As with her previous projects, the key was to conduct in-depth, “gruelling” interviews with the subjects. “I never come with any questions,” says Finlay. “I’ll sit with the guys for hours. I get them to slow things down, tell me everything in minute detail.” When did she feel she had found the kernel of the story? “It became apparent very quickly that this was a bromance that had gone horribly, horribly wrong,” she says. “The lie had infected everything. So I’m constantly trying to think, ‘What’s the reality of this situation, and how do I show that in the film?’ The reality is that they weren’t friends by the end of it. So the ending of the film is far apart, geographically, emotionally, physically.” Hip-hop seems like the ideal subject to examine the nature of truth and lies, with its conflicting values of ‘keeping it real,’ the vivid braggadocio of its lyrics, and the larger-thanlife personas of rap stars. Did it feel like going down the rabbit hole? “A bit, yeah. There were

Photo: Goetz Werner

eanie Finlay is feeling triumphant after a packed screening of her new documentary, The Great Hip Hop Hoax, at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. As we sit down to speak, she hands over a lie-detecting fish, such as you might find in a Christmas cracker, and breaks out in a wicked smile. Her new documentary is all about the power of truth and lies. The film tells the story of Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd, two Scottish rappers who assumed the identity of US hip-hop artists, convincing everyone from Sony to Eminem cohorts D12 that they were the real deal – up-and-coming rap artists from America’s West Coast. Like her breakthrough film Sound It Out, which told the story of a struggling but well-loved independent record shop in Stockton, it is a bittersweet tale: Boyd quit the band and returned to Dundee, while Bain was left almost penniless, and suffered a nearfatal drug overdose before eventually writing a highly fictionalised ‘tell-all’ account of their adventures, California Schemin’. Finlay came across their story in the Guardian, and was immediately captivated. “Sometimes you find things when you’re not looking for them,” she says. “It just offered so much, it’s really rich.” The story keyed in to what has become a recurring theme in Finlay’s work: “Reinvention, self-invention.” The tale began when Boyd and Bain were rejected at a London industry talent search run by Polydor, looking for ‘the next Eminem.’ The judges had compared them to a ‘rapping Proclaimers,’ a thoughtless put-down that will be familiar to many Scottish hip-hop artists. Their response? They created Silibil N’ Brains; drug-fuelled, Californian whitetrash rapper personas, and set about reinventing their origins. This plan, to Finlay, seemed like “a bonkers answer to a ridiculous situation.” Finlay’s father is Scottish: “The idea of denying your Scottishness seemed completely crazy. He was like, 'Why would anyone do that?’” Did she have any sympathy for Boyd and Bain? “I did feel sympathy,” she admits. “I don’t really go into any film with an agenda. I’m going in to listen and to see what’s going on. It just seemed like what they did wasn’t logical. It’s not like they got turned down [by the record industry] a thousand times; they got turned down once. The next logical step was, ‘Okay, we’ll just become American.’”

Photo: Goetz Werner

Interview: Bram E. Gieben

Feature

points at the beginning where I asked myself, ‘Are these people out of their minds?’” says Finlay. “I even asked myself if I was just a bit-part player in another, bigger hoax. Once I started seeing the evidence, I realised it was real.” Still, there were layers of fictions and counter-fictions to sift through, including separating truth from invention in Gavin Bain’s book. “There are parts in the book that didn’t happen in reality,” Finlay explains. “So for example, the BRITS – in the film I show the truth, that Billy went on his own. But in his book, Gavin describes it in minute detail.” This allowed Finlay to show one particularly pertinent truth: “If you tell lies for long enough, what you end up remembering is the lie,” she says. “There are different layers of invention in all of our everyday lives. When I get up in the morning, I decide what colour my lips are going to be today, whether I’ll have a curl in my hair or not. It’s all about presenting a face to the public, and a lot of my films are about that. But in hip-hop, it’s presented as authenticity. They were ‘genuinely fake.’” After the success of Sound It Out and The Great Hip Hop Hoax, Finlay has formed her own production company. “It’s called Glimmer Films because I’m always looking for that one moment, that glimmer that gives you the heart of the story,” she says. “I had always been a directorfor-hire. I realised I wanted to be much more involved in that, because you live and breathe these films, day in day out. So why not make my own company?” She often works in co-production with Met Films, who co-produced Hoax. Sound It Out was entirely crowdfunded – one of the first UK films to achieve a 100% budget this way, it went on to be distributed in 50 cinemas in the UK, and five international territories, thanks in no small part to its making a big splash at the South by Southwest Film Festival. The story of the film’s genesis is now used as a case study on crowdfunding by the British Film Institute, and Finlay has gone on to lecture on the topic at universities. She is pragmatic about crowdfunding: “There are issues with everything,” she says, “but we live in interesting times.” For her, the key advantage is audience engagement. “Some people came up to me at

FILM

the screening at Edinburgh International Film Festival and said, ‘I crowdfunded Sound It Out. It’s really good to see you’ve made another film.’ Part of the battle was that no one had heard of crowdfunding – I had to explain what it was.” She cites Zach Braff’s controversial Kickstarter campaign as one of the signs that crowdfunding has become mainstream. “I think it works best if it acts like a pre-buy,” she says. Her new film, Orion, will be partly funded this way. “If you’re doing it for the money, you’re doing it for the wrong reasons,” she offers. “I think you need integrity – but I like the idea it’s democratic, that anyone can do it. It depends what kind of films you want to make. I’m an independent documentary maker, so the budgets are always going to be within reach. If you can nurture a good relationship with your audience, they’ll find your work.” Orion touches on one of the greatest stories in rock‘n’roll. “It was inspired by buying a record at a car boot sale ten years ago, with a mystery man on the cover, with a mask. I uncovered a rollercoaster story of the music industry that ended in murder. It’s 1978, in the months after Elvis Presley’s death. Another singer was signed to Sun Records and was given a Zorro mask to wear, and hundreds of thousands of people believed he was Elvis, back from the grave. So it’s about the Elvis myth, and the pressures of living as a ghost.” Another film about the music industry – is this the completion of a trilogy? “My producer keeps joking I’m making the box set,” she says with a chuckle. “I don’t know. They all just appealed to me as stories – they had lots of rich layers. I’m working on another film called Pantomime, which is very similar to Sound It Out in tone, but it’s about an amateur dramatic pantomime in Nottingham – about their lives and loves, on and off-stage. It’s more about reinvention,” she says, returning to her favourite theme. “What happens when you’re not yourself? A mask enables a fantasy.” The Great Hip Hop Hoax is released 6 Sep by Vertigo Films @JeanieFinlay www.orionthemovie.com

THE SKINNY

2013

That Festival

ct O 12

THAT Festival returns with an eclectic week of cutting edge performance, gravity defying dance moves, banging beats and the craziest cafĂŠ this side of wonderland. Great ÂŁ5 ticket deals for students and anyone aged 26 & under!

Featuring: Boo er Prize

shortlisted author Adam Foulds

Neu! Ree ie!

with special guests TEENCANTEEN plus headline act (tba)

a La Buzzcarte

a unique cafĂŠ experience created by Glasgowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Buzzcut especially for THAT Festival

Junction 25 - figment

fresh from an award-winning sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe

No-Fi Disco

the closing party to end all parties. Expect things to get sweaty

and much, much more!

FIND US University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA

macrobert is situated at the heart of the University of Stirlingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s beautiful campus. There is parking on the campus. Frequent buses from Stirling town centre and the train station drop you right at our door. For all public transport options call Traveline Scotland at 0871 200 22 33 or visit www.travelinescotland.com

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#thatfest

MACROBERT, UNIVERSITY OF STIRLING, FK9 4LA

01786 466666 | WWW.MACROBERT.ORG/THATFEST13

September 2013

The Future 40

The Nominators • •

Canongate celebrate their 40th by showcasing 40 contemporary Scottish storytellers

Interview: Ryan Rushton

• •

“40

seemed an appropriate age to look at where we had come from and where we are going,” explains Francis Bickmore, Publishing Director at Canongate. The Scottish institution has been working on marking this anniversary in a very unusual manner. “We didn’t want it to be too nostalgic and backslapping, and for us the interesting thing was looking ahead to the new forms which storytelling could take over the next 40 years.” There is no doubt the possibilities are changing; narrative has bled from its traditional media into the new and now recycles back and forth in an energising exchange of ideas. In looking to the next 40 years of storytelling possibilities, Canongate were keen to acknowledge this and thus The Future 40 was born. In collaboration with The Skinny, the nation has been thoroughly scoured for the very best storytellers in the fields of literature, animation, film, visual art, spoken-word, games, music, graphic novels, digital media and theatre. We didn’t do this alone however. Instead, we drew upon the knowledge of those at the very top of their fields. We asked them who they saw as defining storytelling for the next four decades. As Bickmore puts it: “people like Alasdair Gray, David Shrigley and Jackie Kay are examples of pioneers in terms of storytelling from their generation and we were interested to pair them up with not just creatives, but with people involved on a daily basis with the arts in Scotland, to really get, from the horse’s mouth, a sense of who are the emerging talents.” The mission was to find “people who haven’t

quite popped up onto the mainstream radar yet, but are likely to be the ones to watch for exciting narrative ideas over the coming years,” Bickmore says. Looking at the final 40, selected by such luminaries as Steve Mason or Liz Lochead, Bickmore believes you can see themes emerging. He believes “more than ever the role of the author is one that can extend out of the writer’s study and into the world – interacting with people in an immersive way is a feature of a lot of the artists – a buzzword would be engagement. How writers engage with their audience and interact, and that is something we are wrestling with as a culture but is certainly going to have an effect on storytelling.” He believes this engagement can be seen in “graphic novelists like Tom Gauld, who manages to combine storytelling and comedy into cartoons and graphic novels that have a huge

amount of poignancy and potency.” Or in “an outfit like The Story Mechanics or Lucky Frame; some of these emerging digital developers are making the most of Scotland’s high-profile as an international Mecca of gaming development and really seeing what can happen when you combine stories with gaming.” Other strands, such as a tendency toward collaboration and working across multiple media become clear looking at the list as a whole, but Bickmore suggests “the pioneering aspect is key. I came across this great quote from Frank Zappa: ‘without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.’” Perhaps then we should consider this willingness to experiment that which links these artists. But, in truth, it is the excellence of their work and their potential to culturally define the next 40 years that binds them. So, without further ado, we present The Future 40.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Alasdair Brotherston and Jack Mooney

• • • • • • • •

Alasdair Gray, Writer and Artist Alun Woodward, Co-founder of Chemikal Underground Angela Robertson, Head of Brand and Events, Canongate Ariadne Cass-Maran, Compere of Graphic Scotland Brain Baglow, Editor-in-Chief at Scottish Games Network Calum Colvin, Course Director at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design Prof. Chris Breward, Principle of Edinburgh College of Art Chris Fujiwara, Director of Edinburgh International Film Festival Danya Galloway, Lecturer at University of Abertay Dave Kerr, Music Editor at The Skinny David Shrigley, Artist Francis Bickmore, Publishing Director of Canongate Francis McKee, Writer and Curator Jackie Kay, Writer Jackie Wylie, Artistic Director at The Arches Dr. Joe Halliwell, Director at Winterwell Judith Doherty, Co-Artistic Director at Grid Iron Kate Gray, Director of Collective Gallery Kath Mainland, CEO of Edinburgh Festival Fringe Liz Lochhead, Writer Mark Daniels, Executive Director at New Media Scotland Neil McGuire, Designer/Design Tutor at Glasgow School of Art Nick Barley, Director of Edinburgh International Book Festival Dr. Nick Prior, Sociology Senior Lecturer at University of Edinburgh Orla O’Loughlin, Artistic Director at The Traverse Rachel McCrum, Poet/Performer of Inky Fingers Rosamund West, Editor-in-Chief at The Skinny Rupert Thomson, Artistic Director at Summerhall Ryan Rushton, Books Editor at The Skinny Steve Mason, Musician Stephen McRobbie, Monorail Will Morris, Graphic Novelist

Canongate presents… The Other Side: A Night of Stories, Sights and Sounds

Rachel Maclean

Will Morris

Finding the 40 most exciting cultural pioneers is one way to mark four decades, but what is an anniversary without a party? Canongate will bring together some of the best storytellers they know for a landmark event on 19 September. Authors Michel Faber, Matt Haig, Alasdair Gray and Michael Smith will be joined by poet and exArab Strap musician Aidan Moffat, as well as RM Hubbert and Rick Redbeard from The Phantom Band. Jeremy Dyson (League of Gentleman, Psychoville, Ghost Stories), will take guests over to the dark side with his twisted tales, while classical pianist and former psychiatric patient James Rhodes – whose debut album, Razor Blades, Little Pills and Big Pianos reached No 1 in the iTunes classical chart – will give a special performance. The event will also showcase original short films featuring Tilda Swinton, Miranda July and the late Gil Scott Heron, a sneak preview of Under the Skin, the film adaptation of Michel Faber’s novel, plus live art by graphic artists Too Much Fun Club and bibliotherapy by Ella Berthoud, author of The Novel Cure. Hosted by South Bank Associate Artist and official poet for the London Olympics Lemn Sissay, this narrative mash-up event is not to be missed. Yet more very special guests are still to be confirmed. 19 Sep, 7-11pm, The Jam House, Queen Street Edinburgh, £10

William Goldsmith

SHOWCASE

Tickets: theotherside.eventbrite.co.uk

THE SKINNY

Alasdair Brotherston & Jock Mooney – Animation/Illustration

Alasdair Brotherston and Jock Mooney developed successful careers in animation and sculpture before first collaborating on Throw Me To The Rats in 2008. In 2009 they signed to Trunk Animation for commercial representation where they have made a variety of award winning projects in animation, live action and illustration.

Jenni Fagan – Novels/Short Stories

“Fagan’s Panopticon heralds the arrival of a brave new talent, I think. It’s astonishing, written with great verve and brio, a disturbing compelling book, about a ‘holistic’ home for young offenders, where the inspectors can see the offenders at all times without being seen.” – Jackie Kay

Rob Williams – TV

Rob Williams is the writer and founder member of 26, an association of writers and language specialists. He was selected as one of eight writers for the BBC Writers Academy 2008/9 to be trained and commissioned to write for Doctors, Casualty, Eastenders and Holby City. He has just been commissioned by STV to write a series, due to air next year.

Rachel Maclean – Visual Art

“Rachel’s work slips inside and outside of history and into imagined futures, creating hyper-glowing, artificially saturated visions. She is a Glasgow based artist working largely in video and digital print, often exhibiting this alongside props, costumes and painting.” – Calum Colvin

of Proteus, the critically acclaimed freeform exploration game where the melding of audio and visuals form the narrative.

Will Morris – Comics/Graphic Novels

The Silver Darlings, Will Morris’s first graphic novel, tells the story of Danny’s coming-of-age final summer at his Ayrshire home, before leaving for Glasgow. Delicately illustrated and paced, it is just as Ariadne Cass-Maran would have you believe: “Properly, properly beautiful.”

Alasdair Roberts – Music

“I first came across Alasdair through a shared interest in Scottish Ballads. He sent me a recording he’d made of the ballad Clerk Colvill, which totally transformed my impression of this precautionary tale. However his storytelling is at its strongest when performed live. His band, Alasdair Roberts and Friends carried me away to some place and time half-familiar and half-imagined.” – Will Morris

Simon Meek (The Story Mechanics) – Games/Digital

2013 saw the release of his ‘Digital Adaptation’ of The 39 Steps. This tablet and desktop game represents a bold experiment in how to present a novel that weaves interactivity around the story, preserving the source text in its entirety.

Michael Pederson – Poetry/Spoken Word

Released through Warp Films, For Those in Peril “marks Paul Wright as one of the most original and audacious new talents to emerge in British filmmaking,” says Chris Fujiwara.

His debut collection of poems, Play With Me, has just been released to a wealth of positive reviews and contains hilarious and thought-provoking reflections on youth, friendship, relationships, travel and much more, all through an authentic voice that can in a single phrase both reach for the stars and scurry in the gutter. As host of Neu! Reekie!, Pederson is leading the way in the Scottish spoken word scene.

RM Hubbert – Music

William Letford – Poetry

Paul Wright – Film

An integral part of the Glasgow DIY scene and also known as a member of post-rock outfit El Hombre Trajeado, RM Hubbert has become widelyrecognised for his intimate acoustic sound and prolific live output. As Alun Woodward of Chemical Underground puts it, “Melancholy that speaks of humanity, love and hope all conveyed through 6 strings and 10 fingers by an unassuming man with a lot of soul.”

Donna Leishmann – Games/Digital

“Her narratives are brought to life as illustrations animated using Flash. There is a dark undertone hidden behind wide eyes in this work, a density of layers to be explored. She is a current recipient of an Alt-w Fund award to create a new work, Front.” – Mark Daniels

Neil Forsyth – Books/TV

Creator of the hugely successful Bob Servant character, Neil Forsyth first brought to life the Bard of Broughty Ferry as a way to entertain himself and play havoc with email scammers. Three books, a radio show, and now a TV adaptation later the public has proven hungry for the strange, parochial outlook of Bob.

Gill Hatcher (Team Girl) – Comics/ Graphic Novels

Ariadne Cass-Maran describes Team Girl as “an allwomen collective who tell stories and give women in Scotland a place to put their work, whether they’re beginners or experienced, young or old. A valuable part of the scene.” With a background in freelance illustration and graphic design, Gill Hatcher’s comics work flits between the fantastical and the real and as editor of Team Girl she provides a unique platform.

Yann Seznac (Lucky Frame) – Games/Digital

A BAFTA-winning creative studio based in Edinburgh, Lucky Frame are responsible for games such as Wave Trip, the iOS music-creation/arcade hybrid. They were also involved in the Mac version

September 2013

William Letford has worked as a roofer, on and off, since he was fifteen years old. He has also received a New Writer’s Award from the Scottish Book Trust for his debut collection of poems, Bevel, that incorporates various aspects of the job and the working class experience more generally.

Kirsty Logan – Short Stories/ Journalism

A writer of both journalism and fiction, Kirsty Logan’s dark, adult fairytales have been read on Radio 4, published in numerous anthologies and have recently won the Scott Prize. Her debut collection, The Rental Heart & Other Fairytales will be published by Salt in February of next year.

Tom DeMajo (Quartic Llama) – Games/Digital

“Tom is a co-director of Quartic Llama, which in the space of a year has become one of the most exciting independent game development studios in the UK. Tom is the creative heart-beat behind the studio’s output to date, and was responsible for the artistic direction of Other, a site-specific horror game.” – Danya Galloway

Fielding Hope – Music

“Fielding Hope represents everything that is good about the creative scene in Scotland. Under the moniker of Cry Parrot he has been bringing the most interesting contemporary music from around the world to Glasgow and beyond, as well as showcasing the most exciting local musical talent.” – David Shrigley

James Graham (The Twilight Sad) – Music

“At the time The Twilight Sad formed, while others were still adopting American-English and watering down their roots in search of chart success, James was fearlessly using his own native tongue as a conduit to bring the compelling imagery of a childhood spent in the Scottish countryside to life.” – Dave Kerr

Ryan Van Winkle – Spoken Word/ Poetry

“Ryan is a great, exciting, engaging poet who experiments with live performance, theatre, AV as well as poetry. His poetry / theatre experiment Red, Like Our Room Used to Feel which he presented at the Fringe last year, was intimate, engaging, critically incredibly well received and took poetry to a whole new audience.” – Kath Mainland

Finn den Hertog – Theatre

Judith Doherty describes Finn den Hertog as “one of Scotland’s most exciting young theatre makers – a storyteller across many disciplines as he not only writes but also acts and directs. Finn is on the cusp of an incredible, multifaceted career as a story teller and Grid Iron feel privileged to be part of his development.”

Tom Gauld – Illustration/Comics

A cartoonist and illustrator with a weekly cartoon in the Guardian, Tom Gauld has published numerous graphic novels, including the Eisner Awardnominated Goliath. As Francis Bickmore puts it: “Tom Gauld manages to combine storytelling and comedy into cartoons and graphic novels that have a huge amount of poignancy and potency.”

Kieran Hurley – Theatre

“Kieran Hurley’s political integrity, combined with a clever use of humour and emotional sensitivity gives him a huge capacity to issue a rallying call to action for the next generation of audiences, artists and activists.” – Jackie Wylie

Sandra Marrs & John Chalmers (metaphrog) – Comics/Graphic Novels

Shona Reppe – Theatre/Puppetry

Shona Reppe is dedicated to creating small-scale theatre for children and their families. Her critically acclaimed, award-winning show, The Curious Scrapbook of Josephine Bean, was a multi-disciplinary journey into the imagination. Her forthcoming installation, Huff, is based on the 3 Little Pigs.

Maria Fusco – Visual Art

“Maria established the art writing MA course at Goldsmiths University. Now based in Edinburgh, she has been instrumental in a reappraisal of how writing is regarded within visual culture.” – Kate Gray

Harlequinade (Alasdair Maloney) – Spoken Word/Film/Theatre/Music

A polymathic performer who incorporates elements of performance poetry, literature, opera, puppetry and clowning, Harlequinade’s often surreal shows can just as likely draw from mythology as they can celebrity culture.

Tommy Dutch (Too Much Fun Club) – Visual Art/Performance

A visual art and illustration collective based in Edinburgh, Too Much Fun Club take their work into the world, creating large-scale murals at events, clubs and outdoor festivals.

Eleanor Thom – Novels/Short Stories With a deep fascination for languages and movement, Eleanor Thom’s 2009 debut novel The TinKin was based on photos, artefacts and memories of her mother’s Travelling family. Widely lauded, it was the recipient of The Saltire Society Scottish First Book of the Year Award.

Ruth Barker – Visual Art/Literature/ Performance

Sandra Marrs and John Chalmers have been creating comics, graphic novels and illustrations since 1996, gradually building a loyal following and receiving critical acclaim worldwide. Their Louis series has received several prestigious award nominations, and support from Creative Scotland.

Based in Glasgow, Ruth Barker is an artist working mostly through performance and writing. Her recent performance, Of Gilgamesh, and Others, was a six and a half hour reading of an original text.

Matt Hulse – Film

Will Anderson – Animation

“Matt Hulse is a filmmaker who is deeply committed to finding innovative ways of telling stories and his work raises profoundly interesting questions about what it means to tell, or to receive, a story. His film Dummy Jim was made (largely) in Scotland and tells the story of a highly unusual Scotsman, the deaf James Duthie, author of the 1951 book I Cycled Into the Arctic Circle.” – Chris Fujiwara

Morna Pearson – Theatre

“Morna is an award winning young playwright with a darkly comic and bitingly political voice, who sees the world unlike anyone else: in all its idiosyncratic and tragic glory. Her use of a kind of post-modern Doric brings a timeless quality to her work, although it is entirely contemporary and about the here and now.” – Orla O’Loughlin

Joyce Gunn Cairns – Visual Art

“A visual artist living in Edinburgh whose work I like – she has drawn portraits of me that my wife does not detest.” – Alasdair Gray

William Goldsmith – Comics/ Graphic Novels

Based in Glasgow, William Goldsmith’s debut Vignettes of Ystov began life as a one-page comic he created for art college. Seeing potential in the themes and style he began to craft more stories of this fictional Eastern-European town. He is currently working on his second graphic novel, to be published in 2014.

Emma Davie – Film

Documentary filmmaker Emma Davie’s I AM BREATHING documents the compelling and highly moving story of Neil Platt and his family as his condition deteriorates from the effects of Motor Neurone Disease. “It is a sensitive, intimate and in many ways life-affirming narrative that has done much to raise the profile of the condition and a fight for a cure.” – Chris Breward

Showcase

Winner of the 2013 BAFTA for Best Animated Short, Will Anderson’s The Making of Longbird has been recognised and screened internationally to great acclaim. A frequent collaborator with Ainslie Henderson, their short Scroogin on a Greg is about the dangers of peer-pressure amongst pigeons.

Rob Drummond – Theatre

A writer and performer with a true gift for the dramatic, Rob Drummond’s plays probe the larger questions of life and existence, while offering the audience accessible, often shocking scenes. His show, Bullet Catch, debuted at last year’s Fringe and has recently toured the Americas, drawing people in with the promise Drummond will allow a member of the audience to shoot him in the face.

Texture – Spoken Word/Hip-Hop/ Journalism

Texture aka Bram E Gieben is a poet, journalist and hip-hop writer. Co-founder of Chemical Poets and Black Lantern Music, he performs with live literature group Writers’ Bloc. Addressing futurism, politics and identity, his writing and performances are intense, vivid and violent. Currently working on a novel nominated for the 2012 CWA Debut Dagger, he is also the Staff Writer for The Skinny.

Ruth Paxton – Film/TV/Visual Art

An impassioned young Scottish filmmaker and visual artist, Ruth Paxton’s work is heavily influenced by popular culture and has been celebrated for its surreal, unique and often humorous style.

Rabiya Choudhry – Visual Art

A painter who creates complex iconographies that draw together both a European and a Pakistani tradition, exploring ideas of identity, gender, religion and sexuality. Choudhry has recently worked with Blameless collective, a graffiti group who created work for Stirling prison and the new Leith mural.

Photo: Ian Martin

Making Jewellery Work As jewellery design collective Vanilla Ink prepare to exhibit for the first time at the International Jewellery London show, we speak to founder Kate Pickering about building a network for emerging creatives

n the heart of the Dundee’s industrial quarter hides Vanilla Ink, a creative community committed to nurturing the fresh and exciting jewellery designers of tomorrow. Vanilla Ink offers so much more than a jewellery design course. They believe that the difference between having a dream and making it a reality is understanding the market, and to be successful it is important for a designer to discover where they belong within their industry. Unfortunately, by only focusing on creative practice, many university courses fail to provide industry insight or teach business skills. This makes it increasingly difficult for young designers to establish themselves independently and take their first step on the professional ladder. Having experienced this lack of guidance first hand, Kate Pickering set up Vanilla Ink to help fellow jewellery design graduates find their way and make their mark in very a competitive industry. “I graduated in 2007 from Jewellery and Metalwork,” she says. “As with most graduates, I returned home and tried to plan my life as a jeweller. Turns out it was a lot more difficult than I thought. Having never been prepared for the outside world I felt lost, and missed the support of my peer group within university. I tried seeking advice from the usual business hotspots, but as soon as they see a creative coming they start hyperventilating.” After completing a Masters in design and gaining a new set of skills, Pickering was feeling more confident about venturing out in to the industry again. However, the same apprehension that followed graduation still lingered, and she began to wonder if other jewellers felt the same. With this in mind, she spent a few years researching and talking about the concept of creating a business that would help jewellery designers like herself bridge the gap between education and industry. With the encouragement of the Cultural Enterprise’s Starter for 6 Programme, Pickering began putting this

Lifestyle

Interview: Jessica Campbell

business plan in to action, and in 2009, Vanilla Ink was established. With the motto ‘Making Jewellery Work,’ Vanilla Ink provides expert one-to-one mentoring, tailored business advice and support for their designers. Pickering describes it as “a space where they [jewellery designers] can think about how to put their learning into practice but still in a supportive environment,” with the aim of enhancing the jewellery designers’ skills and knowledge, and providing the time to find their feet. This friendly environment creates opportunities for collaboration and instantly forms an essential network of like-minded creatives. The first set of Vanilla Ink designers has just completed their year-long journey with great success. “It has been a really interesting process watching the Inkers for the past year,” Pickering explains. “They have focus and a drive to succeed and their confidence has grown incredibly. They have refined their practice and carved a path for themselves and I am really excited to see what they do in the coming years.” With the Vanilla Ink designers (Audrey Reid, Filipa Oliveira, Joanne MacFadyen, Leanne Evans, Robin Bell, Ruth Morrison, Sally-Anne Fenton, Scarlett Erskine and Victoria Kelsey) having already achieved industry awards and funding while having their work featured on established fashion blogs, stockists and in magazine and newspaper features, their future looks very promising. Having grown attached to her first set of ‘Inkers,’ Pickering explains why it will be hard to let them go: “They have shaped the programme and helped me to build it to what it is now. I will be forever grateful for their support but they will be happy to know that they played an integral part to Vanilla Ink.” Before embarking on their own encouraging career paths, The 2012/13 Vanilla Ink designers

will be showcasing their hard work at the prestigious IJL (International Jewellery London – Britain’s largest jewellery trade show) in early September. Pickering describes the journey from the beginning of the programme to ending at IJL has been a “rollercoaster.” With the support of the Dundee community and other unexpected areas, Vanilla Ink were able to crowdfund their way to IJL. Showing at IJL will be an exciting yet worthy challenge, especially as it will be the first for the ‘Inkers.’ “Go big or go home!” jokes Pickering. “It will be a great platform to showcase their new careers within the jewellery industry and could not have come at a better time. It is daunting but we have each other to support us.”

“I tried seeking advice from the usual business hotspots, but as soon as they see a creative coming they start hyperventilating” Kate Pickering

Later in September, the first set of ‘Vanilla Inkers’ will be holding their End of Year Show back at home in Dundee. “We can’t wait for our End of Year Show,” Pickering says. “Plans are beginning to take shape and it is open for the public to attend – that’s who it is for. The Inkers have

FASHION

been in the space for a year, and it’s now time to showcase what they have been up to in that time. IJL is great exposure for us, but we are very keen to bring that back to Scotland and go a bit wild.” The show opens on 13 September with a monochrome, jewellery-packed frenzy of catwalk shows, an exhibition of the Inkers work and a pop-up shop. The event will be open daily from 10am-6pm until 17 September. As Pickering says goodbye to her first set of Inkers she will soon be welcoming in her new, exciting crop of talent for 2013/14. “We have just completed the interview process for the new Vanilla Inkers. We had 18 interviewees and we have to cut it down to just 8. It is a tough decision but we are looking for individuals that show determination, dedication and an openness to keep learning. And beautiful jewellery helps of course.” With the new Inkers waiting in the wings, Pickering says she is looking forward to “a new challenge.” She explains: ‘“The thing with Vanilla Ink is that it will never stand still, there is no formulaic plan, it has to be able adapt and change to it’s surroundings. The new group is very different to the first and I think that is going to be the case every year. That’s what excites me.” With their innovative programme and ideals, Vanilla Ink is leading the way for other creative industries. With the importance of teaching young creatives business skills and offering the support needed to succeed at the core of its ethos, Vanilla Ink is destined to prosper and create industry professionals of the future. End of year show 13 Sep, WASPS Meadow Mill, Dundee For more information on their End of Year Show and to hear about the new ‘Inkers’ follow Vanilla Ink at: www..facebook.com/vanillainkstudios www.twitter.com/vanillainkUK vanillainkstudios.co.uk

THE SKINNY

Jeweller: Ruth Morrison

September 2013

FASHION

Lifestyle

Photo: SD Photography Photo: James Anderson

Jeweller: Sally-Anne Fenton

The Couple Conundrum Words: Kate Morling Illustration: Cat O'Neill

Selling everything you own to travel the globe with the person you love; it’s a romantic notion many loved-up, travel-hungry minds only ever dream about.

hey say opposites attract; I guess that’s how I ended up on top of a karst mountain in Xingping, China, yelling at my moronic boyfriend to stop doing his best karate kid impression immediately next to the edge. “Just take the photo and I’ll get down,” Pete yells across at me. I refuse. I’ve known this boy for fifteen years; I’ve been stupid enough to have been his girlfriend for about six of them. ‘Girlfriend’ is a loose term. ‘Parent’ or ‘guardian’ may be more apt. Our home life in Australia was constantly marred by 2am trips to the hospital after Pete had drunkenly severed an artery in his hand or split his head open walking into a slot machine. For the record my hospital tally is zero. Pete’s is nearing double figures. When we left Australia over two years ago to work and travel around the world, our friends and family thought we were crazy. Our best friends began to place bets on how early we would give up and come home. Safe to say, we are owed quite a few beers upon our return at the end of the year. But who can blame them? Pete, the notoriously lazy procrastinator and Kate, the anxious over-planner; we aren’t exactly a great match in life, let alone long-term travel companions. Before we left Australia we hadn’t so much as lived together and now we were embarking on an adventure that would require us to spend every waking (and sleeping) moment together. With two very different approaches to life, Pete’s ‘she’ll be right’ vs. my ‘she’ll be right because I’ll plan every last step and then rehearse it for two weeks prior,’ working together to tackle the world proved to be more of a challenge then we had expected. The morning of our departure from Australia, after packing my backpack in just four weeks, I stood under a cold shower sobbing in a state of panic. Pete installed the lights his mother had been pestering him to do for the last seven months and casually threw random articles of clothing into his bag. Twenty-six months and twenty-eight countries later, we’ve managed to devise a system to prevent ourselves from killing each other. “Kate does the planning, logistics and budget, and tells me where I need to be. I do the talking,” Pete explains to our new Scottish friends over dinner and Efes beers. “It’s a system.” Hearing this system verbalised, I realised I had somehow managed to get the raw end of the deal… That was until we got to China, the land of squat toilets with no doors, chicken feet in vacuum seal bags, and where virtually no one speaks English. After countless hours spent finetuning our itinerary, searching for the cheapest flights, and fretting over whether our Chinese visas would be approved in time for our flight the following day, watching Pete mime ‘toilet’ to a girl in a supermarket made all my hard work seem worth it. Much of our first year of travel was spent bickering about how many Euros Pete had spent on Weissbier at a Berlin nightclub the night before or whose turn it was to be the annoying tourist asking random strangers where the nearest metro entrance was. By the time we reached Portugal, seven months into our trip, to meet up with an Australian friend, our romantic world adventure had become anything but romantic. It was bordering on all out war. “I never wanted children, yet somehow I ended up travelling the world with a six-foot-five child and his drunken mate.” I tell our seven new best friends around a table covered in beers in

Lifestyle

party town Lagos, Portugal. “I’ve become a walking, talking Lonely Planet guidebook. I’m ready to leave them both.” They all laugh. I’m not joking. After farewelling our friend in Florence, as he travelled north to Germany (led by Cupid’s firm grip) the pressure pot that had become our relationship finally exploded. Where better to have a lover’s quarrel than the city of love itself, Venice. “The hotel must be that way.” Pete points in the wrong direction. “It’s not that bloody way. Here, look.” I thrust the upside down map at him. “There’s San Marco Square,” I point with more force than necessary, “so it must be down that way.” “Just chill out, ok? I’m just trying to help. You don’t need to speak to me like I’m a four year old.” He turns on me as a loved up couple stroll past openly staring. The romance that oozed from the city did little to quell our blatant loathing of each other. We eventually reached our costly Venetian hotel and Pete immediately left to find an Irish bar playing the Tottenham game. I was so glad to have planned our trip to coincide with the football, at his request. At least I had the luxurious room to myself. Italian TV and a slice of pizza in bed was all the romance I wanted at that point. Had Pete taken this trip alone he likely would have flown to England, blown all his money in the first weeks on beer, burgers and football tickets and would have returned to Australia within 3 months. Vanity would have me think that I could have done it all alone. In reality, however, I would probably never have marched myself from under that cold shower and taken the flight in the first place. When he returned an hour and a half later, it was that notion that had us both disarming our weapons and waving our white flags. Hence, our system was born. Long term travelling is no holiday. It’s frustrating, humbling, confronting and at times, exhausting. It’s buses at five in the morning, directions written in English when the street signs are all written in Cyrillic, it’s seeing small sari-clad girls pooping in the streets, it’s getting food-poisoning in Kashmir and vomiting rice for the next twenty-four hours. We had just arrived in Luxor, Egypt, after a short journey north from Aswan, where I had endured two hours of cat-calling and leering from two men in the seats across from me. Pete had been dozing unaware in the chair behind me and although I was dressed in a long-sleeve tunic and jeans that covered my flesh in the forty-eight degree heat, I had become their entertainment for the ride. I’d been warned by guidebooks and other tourists simply to ignore such behaviours or risk making the situation worse. I simply continued to read my book, as the pit in my stomach grew larger. When Pete began to rouse, their leering seemed to ease. I explained briefly what had happened. He spent the rest of the trip leaned forward with his arm on my chair ready to send a warning stare right back to any more that came my way. “I know it’s frustrating, but you’re OK. You just need a nice long shower and a good dinner.” He cups my face in his hands, looks at me sternly and says this as though it is fact. I’m not so sure; I’m fast approaching my culture shock threshold and I just want to give up and go home. But, as is often the case with Pete (just ask him), he was right. After searching out a decent restaurant serving western food and summoning the comforts of home by settling in with me to watch Harry Potter on our laptop, my frustration at having to bite my tongue in such situations

began to ease, and my world became a little brighter. As night fell, I knew that I could never have done this without him, nor would I have wanted to. Certainly there have been days where I thought our story would end with Pete locked up in an Indian prison cell for murdering me after I dragged him halfway around New Delhi in search of a shawl with the perfect shade of turquoise. Sometimes I wonder what would have played out if I had gone it alone in my own rendition of Eat, Pray, Love. But mostly, looking back with rose coloured glasses, I see that our story was indeed a romance; we were falling in love with the world, and each other.

TRAVEL

The memories which our minds share are now like an invisible thread that weaves our lives together. No-one else remembers that time we followed a junkie down a Bucharest alleyway at midnight in search of a hostel after missing a connecting train. No-one else can re-live our relief when he actually took us to a hostel and only demanded the equivalent of $2 as a tip. Noone else can savour the taste of the pancakes we were given the next morning by the hostel owner. It is our memory; and ours alone. Equally, no-one else can share in my annoyance at watching Pete do karate moves on the edge of a cliff…

THE SKINNY

Bi-Gendering A bi-gendered person, discusses what it feels like to have two gender identities

ender is really fucking complicated. I know; that’s a bit of a shocker that you weren’t expecting in a sex and gender section like Deviance. But seriously, for some people gender is a really fucked up concept. Take my gender identity. I’m bi-gender, in that I have two gender identities. For a while I thought maybe I was genderqueer or androgynous… someone beyond gender who could express themselves however they liked. ‘Screw the gender binary!’ I thought, ‘Having only the options of male or female is too restrictive!’ But my gender IS quite binary. Somedays I wear my breast binder and call myself ‘Luke’ (like I am in my byline here) and somedays I wear a bra and go around as a cis(ish) woman. It’s not perfect as a system, but I find it suits me better to flit between the two. It doesn’t suit everyone. A lot of my friends have transitioned completely and successfully from female to male (or, indeed, male to female) with no explicit regrets. They dressed exclusively

Words: Luke Cockayne

in male clothing, cut their hair short, went to their doctor, passed their psychological tests, got their testosterone injections and became the men they always were. Some of my friends haven’t done that, instead choosing to use completely genderless names. Think about that for a moment…. a genderless name. Pig Thequeer, for instance, chose to adopt a name that has no gender signification. It told me: “Pig has been my nickname since I was a kid because I was a guinea pig in a game once... But as an adult I have liked being neutral and even prefer the pronoun ‘it.’ Partly that’s because I don’t feel I fit in and others generally agree I don’t, and partly because many people see ‘it’ as offensive! Plus ‘it’ fits in that a pig is just a pig, most people don’t care if it is a sow or a boar.” Trying to exist outside of the gender binary is really difficult because it’s so ingrained in our society. Today, for instance, I was taking a short course in setting myself up as a freelance writer.

I needed to go to the loo. I was planning to use the disabled, because although I was dressed entirely in male clothing, was wearing a breast

“It’s not perfect as a system, but I find it suits me better to flit between the two.” binder, and had introduced myself to everyone in the private venue as Luke I didn’t want to impose myself on the cis guys and invade their space. Unfortunately there was no disabled toilet, only a male one and a female one. So I had to choose. That’s the gender binary. Some people just don’t fit in the binary. I

admit that this piece is difficult to write without falling into the trap of it. I admire anyone who can live in a fluid, genderneutral space, any intersexed person who refuses to conform to a system that doesn’t even factor them in, anyone strong enough to embrace all the different aspects of their gender. But that’s just not where I’m at. I started hormone blockers a few weeks ago for a medical procedure unrelated to my gender issues. A trans guy friend of mine told me once that testosterone seemed to just correct an imbalance in his body. I feel kind of the same way. I don’t want my hormonal cycle to come back. Would rather just keep taking the suppressants. A few years ago I made an appointment with a gender clinic in Glasgow, but chickened out and didn’t go. Maybe I’m a coward, but a full medical transition just doesn’t seem… like the solution. ‘Bi-gender’ really does seem to be the best term to describe how I feel. I don’t want to have to choose. I can’t choose. And I see absolutely no reason why I should.

My Flatmate The Fetishist Words: Twinkle Illustration: Caitlin Clancy

pplying online to live with strangers is like playing Flat Roulette. They could be anyone. They could be sociopaths, dirty-knicker-hoarding kleptomaniacs or sleep-eaters that wake up with roast chicken carcasses in their beds. I have lived with all those types before, and those were people I knew. Advertising a spare room online is tantamount to sending a bat signal to the wealth of crazies that exist beyond the weirdoes you already know and love. My new flatmate is a nymphomaniac fetishist and self-confessed kinky bitch, although she didn’t say that in her interview. She drip-fed the kinky hints for a fortnight, starting with the penchant for bodices and corsetry, building to the crescendo of her sado-masochistic photo gallery. As rope-bound breasts and spanking paddles stared back at me from the laptop screen, I felt we’d taken our flatmate friendship to the next level. Is bonding over bondage the 21st century house-warming? The new ‘fancy going for a pint?'

September 2013

I started to get concerned about my house becoming a playground for dominatrix sex games. Would my pull-up bar become a prime asphyxiation rail to hang lovers from? Would my dressing gown ties become restraints? My bio yoghurt a delicious, digestion-aiding lubricant? I’m all about consenting adults getting their kicks in the boudoir (or dungeon) in whichever way is most pleasurable for them, but masochism, ball-gags and whipping don’t tickle everyone’s pickle. When I think of rope burning my wrists, having my nipples electrocuted or pouring burning candlewax on someone’s chest, my brain-to-vagina nerve pathways go into complete shutdown. Try as I might to get a tingle on, nothing happens. It’s not that I haven’t dabbled in the lifestyle either. As a teenager, my first Sapphic partner was an enthusiastic masochist, but I always put it down to her infatuation with Placebo and her hyperactivity disorder. She’s now a sex club cage dancer and gets impaled and hoisted by

industrial meat hooks for fun, so it’s safe to assume it’s more than just Brian Molko and an attention deficit. Perhaps it’s all to do with believing in different kinds of sexual freedoms. I like the let’s-puthallucinogens-in-the-reservoir Woodstock type free love scenarios, she prefers Guantanamo interrogation torture and vampire porn. We’re like nymphomania’s yin and yang. Even when faced with pictures of my flatmate’s tits and men gagged with PVC being prodded with needles, I kept my sexual cards close to my chest lest they all be trumped in one foul swoop. She then called me vanilla. Vanilla! I’d like to think I’m more mango sorbet, or a fucking raspberry ripple at least. The only flattery is that my butter-wouldn’tmelt disguise is working – everyone knows wolves get luckier when they’ve got their lamb costumes on. Although she’s active in a sado-masochistic sex subculture and likes to get freaky-nasty in a plethora of pain inducing ways, the rest of the

DEVIANCE

time we just hang out. Sometimes we build furniture. We make crafts. We bake. We do a bunch of family-friendly activities and eat ice cream. She is arguably the least mental flat mate I’ve ever had – she doesn’t steal my underwear or shake breakfast cereal over the house in midnight food raids. I wouldn’t swap her for the Spanish couple that needed a summer let, or the prim receptionist who was worried about a residential parking space. Her exploits no longer faze me. We compare bruises – mine from everyday clumsiness, hers from sex beatings. She tells me there are spanking paddles that can imprint flower petals on your arse cheeks and a cat tail butt plug you insert in your bum before meowing around the room. When I asked her how she celebrated Andy Murray winning the tennis, she answered nonchalantly ‘With a victory flogging.’ Which blew my Pimms and strawberries celebration to smithereens. Shit, maybe I am a bit vanilla.

Lifestyle

7/8 QUEENSFERRY STREET, EDINBURGH EH2 4PA

THE SKINNY

Ready for Take-off Craft beer is now cool, and bearded pseuds everywhere are trying their hand at homebrewing, but what does it take to bridge the home-to-work gap? We delve into a world of heavy machinery, belligerent tradesmen and outdated fashion advice to find out

att Johnson and Patrick Jones are brewers. They have the ideas, they have the skills, and they have all the equipment. That none of said equipment is actually plugged in, and we’re currently chatting to a guy in a tracksuit top-flat cap combo and his mate in a Cramps t-shirt who’s eating an apple, is another point entirely. “We’re waiting for an old guy,” says Pat. “That’s been the story for the last little while. Waiting for old guys to come and say ‘hmmm.’” Pat and Matt are the men behind Pilot, a brewery looking to bring beer back to Leith from their industrial estate unit behind a Cash for Clothes warehouse. The unassuming warehouse is home to an impressive arsenal of heavy-duty brewing equipment. With the ability to fire out 20 casks at a time once up-and-running, Pilot will be a proper little brewery. That means hard work, old guys who say ‘hmmm,’ and big red buttons everywhere. Matt explains: “There has to be emergency switches if you’re working too far from the control panel. The guy who we got the kit from said ‘That’ll let you turn it off if you get your tie stuck in the machinery.’ We looked at each other – ‘We have to wear ties?’” No ties at Pilot then, and the boys have also instituted a ‘no puns’ rule that looks set to be broken by a beer name that we won’t print for

September 2013

fear of spoiling the horrendous surprise. As for the beers, the plan is to aim for twists on traditional styles as well as experimenting here and there. Experimentation was the name of the game with the pilot brewery from which they took their name – it’s gleefully described as “a mango chutney pot filled with heating elements from supermarket kettles.” The tropical-tinged kit met a sticky end recently, in an incident whose retelling involved the sentence “worst case scenario, we all die.” “Turns out mains electricity and 30 litres of liquid isn’t a great combination,” says Pat. Maybe all those big red buttons are for the best. In their defence, Pat and Matt have been getting plenty of practice with dangerous machinery. Their first few weeks in the warehouse were filled with the tasks that tend to get skipped past on the mental road map to becoming a brewing colossus. Tasks like lying face down on a concrete floor “shovelling a metre-and-a-half long trench full of shit with a pound shop trowel,” or a spot of casual angle grinding to remove some pesky concrete. “We thought it would take a couple of hours,” Matt recalls. “We were at it for a week, non-stop, covered in dust and petrol fumes.” “We didn’t speak much that week,” says Pat, “just gave each other reassuring pats on the back after finishing a bit.”

It’s not exactly been an easy run, all told; even before Pilot’s run-ins with their floor and Edinburgh’s electricians, the apparently simple task of getting the brewery equipment into its new home threatened to descend into farce. Pat explains: “The kit is from McCowan’s ale-

“If one more person tells me I’m ‘living the dream’ I think I’m going to punch them in the face” Patrick Jones

house, and it was a real struggle to get it out the door. We were ready to take one of the windows out and bash through the doorframes to get it out, but we just about avoided that. We did need to use an angle grinder to get some of it out of the place though.” If there’s a lesson to take from Pilot, it’s that homebrewing and genuine actual brewing are two very different beasts. The romance of

FOOD AND DRINK

Interview: Peter Simpson Illustration: Nick Cocozza

making beer, crafting a great drink and laughing along with your mates while the latest indie chart-topper fades in from the background is an illusion – you will make beer, but you’d better be ready for some heavy lifting and to smash up some flooring. Or, in Pat’s apple-fuelled words: “If one more person tells me I’m ‘living the dream’ I think I’m going to punch them in the face.” Pilot are on the way, with the merry-goround of tradesmen nearly at a stop and production set to begin in the next few weeks. In the meantime, the duo have their sights set on the next phase of the life of their brewery – the actual brewing. The casks of other producers’ beer stacked at the front of the warehouse give them a good mark to aim for, as well as keeping up appearances for the neighbours. “It’s good to have them here,” says Pat, “it creates the illusion of beer. We can’t actually get into these, though...” That’s brewing, folks – you’ll use some heavy machinery, consider some new fashions, nearly kill yourself with improvised equipment, become increasingly irate with nonbrewers, and you won’t even get a pint at the end of the day. No wonder everyone’s interested. Pilot’s first beer ‘will be out by the end of the year’

Lifestyle

Phagomania: The Birth of the Burizza Breaking news from the cutting edge of the international food scene: the diets of British students and New York foodies are a lot closer than you would have thought

Words: Lewis MacDonald Illustration: Nick Cocozza

hether you are a discerning food aficionado or someone with no self respect who shoves together whatever food they have to hand, it seems we’re all doing much the same thing. The latest trend in the hip-and-happening New York food scene is for adventurous ‘hybrid foods’. Think exhibit ‘A’ is pretty good, but love exhibit ‘B’? Well, why limit yourself to one when you can have both? It all started in May with the invention of the Cronut™, thought up and trademarked by the Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York. It can be roughly described as ‘half croissant, half doughnut.’ The recipe involves a folded pastry similar to a croissant, deep fried, filled with cream, rolled in sugar and glazed. I know! They have sold out every day since invention to massive queues and gone viral on the interwebz. Things move fast among food scenesters, and no sooner had we met the Cronut™ than it was time for ‘the new cronut.’ Behold, the mighty ramen burger (not trademarked). It is a beef burger with ramen noodle buns! Conceived by a ramen noodle blogger, Keizo Shimamoto, it features a special shoyu sauce and spring onions. How those fried ramen buns work is a guarded secret, but expect to see more of this fella on a tweet near you. It seems there is a front-runner to the movement – the ‘patient zero’ of pointless food mash-ups. The Dutch Taco from Flavour Spot in Portland, Oregon, is a waffle taco filled with a breakfast fry-up. The most popular version is several slices of bacon and maple syrup housed

within the waffle taco. Yep. It turns out that our perverse preference for outlandish food combinations is right on the money for this craze, and here at Phagomania we don’t just report, we act. So here’s the burizza (not trademarked, yet). It combines two established, fairly unhealthy fast foods and results in one artery-clogging, building-smashing godzilla of a fast food. Here’s what you do. Start off with your pizza (thin or thick, your choice). Thin pizzas give multiple folding

opportunities, whereas thicker ones are happy just slapped in half. Next, prepare your fillings. Rice, fried beef or pork strips in taco seasoning, guacamole, sour cream, grated cheese, salsa, jalapeños, you name it. The premise is simple: fill your pizza like you would a burrito. Fold carefully and you’re ready to say ‘Buon appetito provecho.’ Upon the first trial our grateful testers say, “this is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten,” “you could open a shop selling these,” and “I’m really going to regret

this tomorrow.” Yes fellow Phagomaniacs, the catch is that even the most spritely and able body will be out of action for a good while after one of these bad boys. You’re welcome. Regular readers looking forward to our further experiments in smoking meat as mentioned in last issue will have to hold tight another month

Around the World in 20 Drinks: Russia Our booze cruise continues in Russia, with bread, honey, and a possible resolution for Russia’s anti-gay laws Words: Peter Simpson

ussia has been in the news a bit recently, with its ‘Section 28 on steroids’ law that criminalises mentioning homosexuality anywhere near kids. But what are they drinking over there to turn them into such unpleasant, pig-headed homophobes? Let’s go on an educational journey to find out! Let’s start with the soft drinks, which are alcoholic and made from fermented bread. Kvass takes your humble lump of rye bread and turns it into slightly boozy brown liquid, which is then flavoured with fruits, herbs and other things that you might want to put into your soft drink. Y’know, stuff that isn’t bread. It’s been around since the 1500s, and gets name-dropped in Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, so it must be nicer than

we’re making it sound. If you just want to eat bread rather than brew it up, you’ll need something to go on it, like jam or honey. Well, honey is the magic ingredient in medovukha, a Russian alternative to mead. What with all the mead the kids are drinking these days, this development comes not a moment too soon. Medovukha dates back to the days of the proletariat being unable to afford mead because it took too long to ferment, only to find that honey and heat would speed that process right up. Clever proletariat, don’t know why they’ve never bothered trying to rise up, we’re sure it would go well for them. The lack of successful workers’ uprisings across Russia in recent times may be because

they’re too busy making samogon, or Russian moonshine. It follows the standard formula – get some water, add some sugar, leave to sit, hope you don’t go blind – but its popularity is slightly terrifying. There seem to be two reasons for this, the first being that it is, incredibly, legal in Russia to make your own distilled spirits, and the second that making your own booze is ten times cheaper than buying a bottle of vodka. By 2014, samogon will be the most popular drink in Russia, an unsettling fact until you realise that getting this anti-gay stuff sorted may be easier if everyone is off their pans on homemade hooch. Those are the kind of negotiations we’ll be happy to mediate.

Food News – September This month’s food news is brought to you by the letters F and S, and the concept of the online readers’ survey Words: Peter Simpson

Lifestyle

efore we begin, just thought we’d mention that our third annual Food and Drink Survey is underway, get the awkward plug out of the way early. Anyway, we start this month on the streets of Glasgow, with the second Street Feastival organised by Scottish social network upstarts Kiltr. Luckily for you, Kiltr’s skills extend beyond puns, and their first event saw the likes of Stravaigin, Hanoi Bike Shop and Dear Green Roasters all set up (temporary) shop at the Barras, so expect them to bring together a similarly motley crew this time around. See, the internet is good for something other than cat .gifs and interactive online food surveys after all. Barras Art and Design Centre, 21-22 Sep From street food to Real Foods, and the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Edinburgh institution that’s been bringing joy, intrigue, and a wide range of exotic bits and pieces into our lives

for half a century. Real Foods are marking the anniversary in a number of ways – surprise Noel Edmonds-style visits to local businesses with healthy snacks, a free online recipe guide with loads of advice on eating right, and a showpiece Real Foods Day with a whole load of other events which they plan to grow into an annual occurrence. If they need any advice, the team behind the third annual Skinny Food and Drink Survey (voting open now!) are happy to help. Real Foods, Broughton St and Brougham St, 7 Sep A day-long celebration is one thing, but in volume terms it has nothing on Scottish Food and Drink Fortnight. We don’t have the word count to sneak-diss every event, so we’ve picked out a couple to watch for. Slow Food Edinburgh’s 1000 Gardens in Africa event at the Botanic Gardens gets a heartwarming vote, detailing a project to bring the aforementioned gardens to African

FOOD AND DRINK

schools. Prepare to feel uplifted by the power of the human spirit while taking in the music and grabbing a snack. Royal Botanic Gardens, Inverleith Row, 7-8 Sep From earnest to excessive, and The Great Scottish Braves Harvest Chilli Festival. It’s got it all – brilliant premise, cracking name, it’s at a flipping palace, and the exhibitor list seals the deal. Chilli vodka? Yep. Chilli cola? Shouldn’t be a thing, but yeah. ‘Chilli cheese bombs’? Um… yes. Incredibly, it’s a yes. As for the centrepiece event, you guessed it – it’s a chilli-eating competition. Bit obvious, but it does remind us that no matter the event there must be a winner, even in our annual Food and Drink Survey, open now, vote at tinyurl.com/foodsurveyscotland, don’t think we’ve mentioned that yet. Scone Palace nr Perth, 21-22 Sep, £6 tinyurl.com/foodsurveyscotland

THE SKINNY

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September 2013

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01/08/2013 10:33

fresher@s flat

0/1

18/09/13 milk freshers special some of glasgow’s biggest bands will take to the flat0/1 front room and promptly tear it apart. 9pm-3am // £5/4 // djs til 3am

19/09/13 i hate fun

MEA

the i hate fun boys will be on the flat0/1 decks to spin some hip-hip, rnb and grime for all you lovely new-comers. 11pm-3am // free entry

20/09/13 boogaloo vs. tremors two of flat0/1’s finest go head to head, smashing out some deep house, bass and techno through a specially brought in, beefed-up sound system. 11pm-3am // free entry

glasgow’s most renound reggae, dancehall and dub oufit invade flat0/1 to give our subs a lengthy workout. 11pm-3am // free entry

22/09/13 bopgun presents ‘endangered species’ bopgun aka smiddy (void) rounds off the week with an eclectic mix of funk, house and soul. 10pm-3am // free entry

Flat 0/1 162 Bath Street www.facebook.com/flat01glasow

@flat01glasgow www.flat01.co.uk

FOOD SERV ED

21/09/13 chungo bungo w/very special guests

L 10 I T UN

JAME

THA

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MME

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ALL MID-WEEK CLUBS

ACOUSTIC NIGHT (MON)

THE SKINNY

Gig Highlights

A whirlwind tour of the coming month's must-see live shows, with Eels, Fuck Buttons, Neon Neon, 65daysofstatic, the Human Is Not Alone project, an epic 3-day experimental music shindig, and a boatload more eptember – bit of a weird month. ‘Sept’ meaning ‘seven’ in Latin, the reason the month is ninth up to bat in the yearly running order is all down to those pesky Romans, who added a few months here and there, shuffled the order about, and moved September up from summer into autumn. So if you’re wondering why the leaves are turning brown and it’s raining all the time, at least you know who to blame. But no matter! Shelter from the grim weather as we dive straight in with the returning No Mean City Festival, taking place at venues across Glasgow throughout the month, and offering a celebration of all things Americana. We recommend perennial alt rock mavericks Eels, who come to town in support of recent outing Wonderful, Glorious – which offered some surprisingly uplifting material from the usually glum US indie veterans. They play the ABC on 3 Sep, but you should also check out the rest of the lineup, which includes The Be Good Tanyas, Caitlin Rose, and epic beard-wearer Kris Kristofferson. Yee, and indeed haw. On 10 Sep, you’d be nuts to miss the magnificent, speaker-destroying electronic hurricane that is Fuck Buttons, coming to shake the foundations of atmospheric warehouse space SWG3. Their recent album Slow Focus only added to their towering body of work, which soundtracked a huge chunk of last year’s Olympics. Support comes from crepuscular doom-merchant The Haxan Cloak. Up next, the collaboration between Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals and American alt rap star Boom Bip – their hyper-intelligent, narrative-heavy take on electronic pop is themed this time around Italian Communist figurehead Giangiacomo Feltrinelli – when we spoke to the band, they promised an immersive, theatrical stage extravaganza to accompany the bleeps and beats. With rave reviews pouring in for their live shows as Neon Neon, this one comes highly recommended. They play Òran Mór on 11 Sep. Anyone who went along to the fantastic Kelburn Garden Party this year will be thrilled to hear about another mini-outing taking place this month on the castle’s lush grounds – the Psychedelic Forest Carnival on 14 Sep promises a heady mix of electronic, hip-hop and world music to party to, way into the wee small

hours. Highlights include Mad Decent beatsmith Schlachthofbronx, tropical electro beats from Swank ‘n’ Jams, and of course a healthy selection of psychedelic cuts from promoter/ DJ Astroboy, NoFace, and a host of local talent. James Blake has taken a fair old critical drubbing of late – Overgrown was not electronic and beat-oriented enough for some listeners, and too experimental a take on R ‘n’ B and traditional songwriting for more mainstream fans. Undeniably, Blake’s skeletal, ethereal productions and fragile voice are showcased at their best in his hypnotic live performances – see for yourself when he visits the ABC in Glasgow on 18 Sep. In our article on the Human Is Not Alone project this month (see p.14), Laeto drummer Robbie Cooper talks candidly about his battle with a rare form of cancer, and his efforts to raise money for Marie Curie with his compilation and series of gigs, showcasing friends and influences from Cooper’s career as a musician – including a track donated by US hardcore legends Fugazi. The Glasgow leg of the gig, which will also visit Edinburgh and Dundee this month, takes place at Stereo on 20 Sep with Fat Goth, United Fruit, Vasquez and Hey Enemy, which also serves as a handy who’s-who of some of the best experimental heavy rock in Scotland. The Katie Harkin-fronted indie mob Sky Larkin return this month with a new album, Motto, showcasing auxiliary Wild Beasts member Harkin’s sharp-eyed lyrics, and now expanded into a four-piece. Expect a bit more heft to their intelligent brand of indie pop as they come to Glasgow’s Nice ‘n’ Sleazy on 21 Sep. Instrumental noisemongers 65daysofstatic also return with a new album this month – Wild Light sees the band on powerful form, augmenting the experimental power electronics with swathes of treated guitar and tight, complex drums. Managing to be both political, experimental, and slavishly adored by fans without having a definitive front-person, let alone lyricist, is some feat – come and see what all the fuss is about at The Liquid Room, Edinburgh, on 22 Sep. Floppy-fringed indie hearthrob Tim Burgess performed well at the Edinburgh International Book Festival this year, regaling the audience with tales of his debauched days on the road

Fuck Buttons

with The Charlatans during the Britpop boom. He treats us to a solo set at the Pleasance Theatre in Edinburgh on 25 Sep – expect songs from last year’s Oh No I Love You, and maybe even a few ‘Charlies classics thrown in for good measure. Still pining for the 90s? Good. The Manic Street Preachers are back with new studio album Rewind The Film, which sees the band welcoming in a few guest vocalists, and pushing their latter day widescreen indie-rock template into various weird shapes, accomodating influences from Motown and folk. They can still write an excoriating political diatribe, not to mention a blistering guitar riff, despite pandering to the mainstream ever since The Holy Bible (with the exception of 2009’s blindsiding Journal for Plague Lovers). We double dare you to stand down the front at the Barrowlands on 29 Sep and shout out requests for The Intense Humming of Evil. Scottish Album of the Year Award winner and matchless guitar virtuoso (but never in a Steve Vai, wanky way) RM Hubbert celebrates

the launch of new album Breaks & Bone – which features honest-to-goodness lyrics from Hubby – with a series of gigs this month, including a stop at Edinburgh’s Electric Circus (with Aidan Moffat and The Unwinding Hours’ Craig B in tow) and St. Andrews in the Square in Glasgow on 29 Sep, playing a beautiful old church with incredible acoustics. Both promise to be very, very special indeed. You can read some words with the man himself on p33. Another completely unique gig happening this month at the Usher Hall on 1 Oct is Live_ Transmission: Joy Division Reworked, which features electronic artist Scanner, The Heritage Orchestra, and visual artist Matt Watkins taking on and transforming the back catalogue of one of the UK’s most beloved and influential bands to create a new and ground-breaking multi-media performance. An absolute essential for anyone interested in electronic music’s history, and the roots of British post-punk.

Do Not Miss Music language Festival 2013

Various Venues (Glasgow), 6-8 Sep

redit is due to Glasgow-based promoter Fielding Hope, aka Cry Parrot – he has singlehandedly taken on the mantle of the foremost promoter of experimental, lo-fi and leftfield sounds in the Scottish scene. This year’s multivenue, multi-platform showcase for some of Scotland and the world’s best and most groundbreaking music, collected under the banner of the Music Language Festival, offers some unmissable gigs from the likes of Anak Anak, solo project of Conquering Animal Sound’s Anneke Kampman; Planet Mu signing and multi-media artist Konx-Om-Pax; psychedelic disco terrorists Golden Teacher; lo-fi post-folkies eagleowl; loopmaster Wounded Knee performing with beatbox supremo Bigg Tajj; a solo set from Hector Bizerk’s Louie; psych-rock disciples The Cosmic Dead; and incredible cult chanteuse Ela Orleans. That’s just the tip of the iceberg – check our listings for the full stellar 3-day lineup.

Golden Teacher

See listings for times and prices

September 2013

MUSIC

Preview

Photo: Sonia Kerr

Words: Ilya Kuryakin

Broadcast, 10 Aug

Thundercat

The Poetry Club, Glasgow, 24 Aug

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Marrying the far-flung explorations of cosmic jazz with contemporary innovation in electronica is an ambitious project, but that’s what Stephen Bruner – aka Thundercat – has achieved over his first two LPs on Brainfeeder. Both records were co-produced by Flying Lotus, which goes some way to explaining their idiosyncratic melding of Bruner’s virtuosic bass workouts with trippy, staccato drum loops and psychedelic keyboard washes. Live, Bruner strips things back to a more orthodox setup, of bass, keys and drums, and as a consequence some of the contemporary sheen of this year’s Apocalypse LP is lost. Evidently acknowledging this, the opening DJ sets from Numbers’ Bobby Cleaver and Simply Richard focus on slamming 80s funk and hip-hop, setting the tone for an evening which emphasises the

Photo: Ross Gilmore

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Naked’s jarring, disorientating visuals and haunting VHS imagery creates a thick atmosphere from the outset this evening. The trio marry pounding industrial with delicate shoegaze; their music is dark-yet-frail, thanks to vocalist Aggie’s soft, wispy voice and sombre stage presence. Broadcast’s basement is blanketed in darkness, with laser trails tracing across the ceiling, drum-machine-led beats glazed with throbbing basslines and alluring guitar melodies. Their scope is ambitiously grand, their impact immediate. Natural Assembly have more of a minimal set-up consisting of Zen Zsigo’s blackened New Order beats and J. Cannon’s echoed, distortiondrenched vocals. Their presence is more plain and less shrouded in vivid imagery, and there’s an odd clash between Zsigo’s enthusiastic techno

headbanging and Cannon’s solemn, moody shuffle. Still, the songs themselves are driving and accomplished. Wesley Eisold’s recording moniker Cold Cave takes the form of a duo for this live set. He’s brooding, confident and stereotypically goth, channeling the energy of acts as varied as The Sisters of Mercy, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Nine Inch Nails. Eisold provides vocals over the melodic backbone of the unit, his style ranging from post-punk baritones to cathartic barks. Some enthusiastic fans manically dance down the front, possessed by dark projections and the driving rhythms of the blunt-force drums. The chainsaw guitar buzz of Oceans With No End is a staple – as is the raw encore of USA – though their over-reliance on pre-recorded sounds throughout the set creates a that’s mood somewhat plastic and disconnected, and less “real” as a result. [Ross Watson] coldcave.net

roots of black music’s contemporary strains. In moving away from the LP’s dense, glossy textures, Thundercat is able to bring out the rich complexity of his compositions. Is It Love? opens with an uptempo passage of ostentatiously brilliant keyboard soloing, before slowing down and allowing Bruner’s astonishing fretwork to take centre stage; such moments comprise the pillars of a set that effortlessly merges his silky, soulful vocals with this blistering technical accomplishment. Conversely, Thundercat’s less-structured pieces can sound incidental in this form, stripped of the metallic edge and sense of context with which they function on the LPs. Bruner is undoubtedly at his strongest when his virtuosity augments the emotive power and epic structures of his compositions, rather than taking over; fortunately, tonight’s set demonstrates his intuitive awareness of the point. [Sam Wiseman] Natural Assembly

ninjatune.net/artist/thundercat

Photo: Vito Andreoni

Cold Cave / Natural Assembly / Naked

Bosnian Rainbows

release. Her presence is commanding, mesmerizing and weirdly spiritual. She’s constantly switching gears, going from tender and passionate (esrrrrr pecially during the dreamy, sorrowful Worthless) Despite his legendary status as a leading figure of to fierce and possessed as the group thrash both At the Drive-In and The Mars Volta, Bosnian through the hard rock stomp of I Cry for You. Rainbows guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López is Though they toy with punk, prog and 60s deliberately understated in his role within this psychedelia, the borrowed aspects of their relatively new project; he’s focused and intense, sound merge beautifully. It might be surprising eyes sealed closed as he shreds and solos, throw- to some, but it’s pop that rears its head more ing psychedelic lead melodies over Nicci Kasper’s than anything here tonight. They’re far from a oddball synth lines and Deantoni Parks’ frighten- nostalgia act, too; there’s something distinctly ingly precise drumming. post-modern about the way it all comes together. The stage is Teri Gender Bender’s playBursting with aural colours, their music makes ground – the Les Butcherettes founder roams even more sense live than it does on record. around, never remaining stationary, pulling Those who found themselves on the fence with shapes and caressing the low ceiling, smiling ecthe album would do well to catch them in the statically as she howls and wails her way through flesh. [Ross Watson] Eli, the stirring opener to the band’s strong debut

Swans / Buke and Gase The Liquid Room, 13 Aug

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Hearing protection at gigs is a common enough sight among the more safety conscious. For Swans though, day-glo foam ear plugs are considered a pre-requisite and are handed out by judicious door staff ahead of tonight’s show. They prove necessary too, even for opening act Buke and Gase. The experimental Brooklyn-based duo utilise home-made instruments and craft some energetic and propulsive cuts, at times coming across like a post-punk Joanna Newsom. Unfortunately, the deafening volume of their headliner’s set-up obscures some intricacies but the pair hold attention for an otherwise welljudged half-hour slot. On record, Swans’ Himalayan peaks are preceded by some pretty arduous schlepping and live they prove no different. For thirty minutes, grizzled leader Michael Gira orchestrates his

Review

rodriguezlopezproductions.com/Bosnian_Rainbows

current cohorts through a hostile terrain of unrecorded songs, clearly still being shaped on the hoof. Other members look taught throughout, as if Gira is on the precipice of fucking with them. Yet when the metronomic rhythms and sheer riff repetition begin to take hold, the mood relaxes, not least within the audience as heads begin to bob to the tribal beat. The necessity of those ear-plugs, near-ubiquitous from where The Skinny can see, initially proves something of a barrier. But a little recalibration and a step back from the fray ensures a sweet spot can be found for all. Oddly, Gira himself provides some levity with a rare bit of chat about a mid-eighties Berlin tour that involved projectile vomit and a disco floor. All too aware that tonight’s impending disco will curtail this show though, the sextet launch back into business before literally bowing out, theatre style, to a battle-hardened crowd. [Darren Carle] younggodrecords.com Bosnian Rainbows

MUSIC

THE SKINNY

Photo: Vito Andreoni

Swans

Photo: Richard Ferguson

Broadcast, 4 Aug

Under the Influence: Jason Newsted Raised in Metallica’s ranks for 14 years, one of heavy metal’s great ambassadors presents a personal guide to “some of the building blocks of what our music has become.” Strap in...

1. Metallica Ride the Lightning (1984) In the beginning there was Ride the Lightning. For me, this is probably the best Metallica album. As a fan, it’s between that and Master of Puppets. Master of Puppets is probably the ultimate in the songwriting and recording ability of that band, but as far as the jump of progress in such a short amount of time [since Kill ‘Em All’s recording just 14 months before], Ride the Lightning is the winner. It shows so much growth and potential in what is the best metal quartet there’s ever been, in our style, with those four guys. It’s the king for me, and Call of Ktulu is second only to Orion. Ktulu is such an incredible, groundbreaking piece – that has to be heralded always. 2. Sepultura Chaos A.D. (1993) My favourite original metal band. Voivod is probably the most innovative, unique metal band, but Sepultura is the most sink-your-teeth-into-the-music kind of metal band for me. Chaos AD was probably the peak of the togetherness, brotherhood, understanding, writing and power of the Cavalera brothers. They were really hitting their best stride with tracks like Refuse/Resist and Territory. Just amazing songs that continue to set the standard. Nobody else has ever been able to reach the fury of their tribal style. They really peaked out on that one. 3. Slayer Reign in Blood (1986) Reign in Blood pretty much sets the bar for all other bands to follow as far as the out and out intensity and

September 2013

relentless pursuit of their aggressive style goes. You always know what you’re gonna get with Slayer. This was the one that really turned everybody’s head and exposed the band to the world while they were still on the way to becoming the best in their field. The beginning of their rise. 4. Exodus Bonded By Blood (1985) For those of us in the Bay Area, San Francisco – Exodus were the kings. They were the ones that set the standard for the circle pit – with thrashy, duelling, muted, super fast guitars, and that down-picking style. Metallica looked up to Exodus for all of that stuff. It was aspirational stuff for many Bay Area musicians, and it made it all the way down to Arizona for this kid right here. They greatly influenced the writing for my first band Flotsam and Jetsam. Let’s tip our hats to Exodus. 5. Megadeth Killing Is My Business... and Business is Good! (1985) For Dave Mustaine, this was his first record away from Metallica. All of the guys in the band at the time were pretty altered on different substances and it made for a very visceral, authentic, warts ‘n’ all virtuoso kind of record. Even though they were fucked up on drugs and hurting emotionally they still showed this incredible musicianship and togetherness that no other band from that era had really exhibited yet. As far as the writing went, Dave took that next step from what he’d shown on the writing of Ride the Lightning for Metallica. There was a complexity to it, and this was their first album. More than anything, this was a personal thing for me, because at that time Flotsam was opening for almost all of Megadeth’s shows. This was such an important record for Dave to get his due.

6. Iron Maiden The Number of the Beast (1982) This is an album that gave us hope that we could be a bigger band, that there’s a way to go out into the world and have a career as a metal musician. Maiden were showing us that you could sell records and take it out to the people. You could do what you want in your own style and make it work. Not to mention how great and appealing the songs were. Everyone could sing along. This was Bruce Dickinson making his debut and taking that band to the next level. 7. Voivod Nothingface (1989) My brothers. This is just about their greatest stroke of genius. It was a point in their career where bands like Faith No More and Soundgarden were opening up for them – it was a pretty big deal back in the day. Again, for Flotsam, this was a big influence on us. I have to show a lot of respect to those guys, because I repeat, they are the most unique band of our genre and continue to be the most innovative in that style. They’ve had many great records, but this one hit a certain stride in a way that appealed to the wider world. 8. Muse Absolution (2003) I’m going to go a little bit sideways and a little bit new with Muse. The musicianship, the virtuosity and songwriting ability here is head and shoulders above all competition. They could still get as heavy as any metal band but have the delicate sounds of the piano and Matt Bellamy’s great singing. Here, they were covering ground that no other band really had in

RECORDS

terms of mixing innovation, instrumentation and technology – showing the diversity that can come about within a power trio. This felt like the beginning of their rise in America. 9. The Sword Warp Riders (2010) Their third album, these guys – alongside Mastodon – are keeping metal alive to this day and giving us all hope. They’re from Texas, but they feed off that old wave of British heavy metal – there’s a little Sabbath-y and Maiden-y taste to what they do, and a lot of Metallica in there. They’ve hit a combination that’s so appealing to me, as far as stoner metal being my favourite kind of stuff goes. This is The Sword flying the flag true in this realm of heavy metal music. 10. Mastodon The Hunter (2011) Their latest release, that track Curl of the Burl is so amazing; as far as mass appeal goes, it’s their bust-out jam. What I appreciate most about Mastodon is that their bass player Troy is also their lead vocalist and frontman, plus they have such a light-hearted approach to music. No matter how heavy and scary it is, they still keep a tongue-in-cheek sense of humour about the lyrical content. They take it seriously when they play it live – sweat their balls off and kick ass like they’re supposed to. But they keep it light and fun – that’s so important in life. Heavy Metal Music by Newsted is out now via Spinefarm newstedheavymetal.com

Feature

Album of the Month

Jel

Late Pass [Anticon, 23 Sep]

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Jel’s third album proper, a follow-up to 2006’s impeccable Soft Money, is difficult to appreciate with the proper awe until you have seen him play live. The foremost practitioner of sample-based MPC production and performance, Jel uses hip-hop’s favourite drum machine in a manner that can only be described as symphonic – every single note played via his intricate, polyrhythmic finger-drumming as samples loop and trigger, creating intensely psychedelic hip-hop patterns and textures. Sonically dirtier than its baroque predecessor, the new material combines that album’s depth and scope in terms of sound with filthier, more upfront beats. The raps, when they come, are

CHVRCHES

RM Hubbert

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The Bones Of What You Believe [Virgin / Goodbye, 23 Sep] CHVRCHES full-length debut is one of the most eagerly anticipated releases of 2013, partly due to the familiarity of such slices of perfect synth-pop as The Mother We Share, Gun, Lies, and Recover, which combine widescreen musical bombast and sharp lyrical focus. Lauren Mayberry’s vocals contrast saccharine sweetness with a knowingly cynical, incisive lyricism, effortlessly outclassing lesser peers AlunaGeorge and Disclosure. They have more in common with the dark-edged, sugary fables of Purity Ring, although musically, they are closer to Chromatics and Com Truise’s 80sreferencing synth excursions. The hits are matched by the instantly infectious likes of We Sink, and the more introspective likes of Tether. The only weak links are Under The Tide and You Caught The Light – without Mayberry front and centre, CHVRCHES are less inspiring. The glitchy perfect pop of Lungs however is unmatched, guaranteeing the trio’s dominance on a worldwide stage – CHVRCHES are simply irresistible; Scotland’s finest pop band. [Bram E. Gieben] Playing Glasgow's O2 ABC on 10-& 11 Oct

Breaks & Bone [Chemikal Underground, 27 Sep] Stripping arrangements back to one man and a guitar again (after the broader, guest-filled canvas of Thirteen Lost & Found), Breaks & Bone firmly underscores RM Hubbert’s technical genius. On Bolt, percussive throbs underpin a flitting guitar line and poignant, almost-whispered vocals, while on tracks like Dec 11 his dancing strings maintain both elaborate melody and the rattling bass beneath – a layering that belies their single-take, single-player creation. But it’s not just his guitar skills that continue to amaze. Perhaps it’s the presence of self-sung lyrics, imprinting his abstractly expressive playing with more tangible sentiments (“If life’s a happy song then we’re tone deaf”; “sometimes it’s just too late to expect forgiveness for half-imagined slights”), but Breaks & Bone is Hubby’s most emotionally affecting record yet, with songs like Feedback Loops heart-breaking in their sincerity. Though inspired by letting go, Breaks & Bone is an album to clasp on to tightly. [Chris Buckle] Playing Edinburgh’s Electric Circus on 26 Sep, Glasgow’s St Andrews in the Square on 29 Sep

Factory Floor [DFA, 9 Sep]

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Factory Floor’s long-anticipated full-length debut doesn’t deviate much from its mission statement – the trio, who define their music merely as ‘industrial,’ make stripped, loop-based techno on analogue machines, revelling in repetition and replete with mysterious, minimal vocals. It’s a perfect foil for DFA, stripping back the punkfunk/nu-disco framework of their classic sound into something leaner and colder. Opener Turn It Up is an exercise in delayed gratification, 808 sounds slowly building with patterned tom hits and deceptively complex snares, finally bursting into the tightly-wound proto-Italo of Here Again, with its surprisingly poppy hook. Fall Back delivers tough, Detroit-influenced techno, building to acidic madness. How You Say and Two Different Ways are the album’s spine; pitch-perfect, restrained industrial disco. This is intelligent, experimental dance music, created using methods quite unlike most Pro Tools and Ableton-led producers. Searingly unique and engagingly familiar, it more than delivers on the London trio’s early promise. [Bram E. Gieben] dfarecords.com/artists/factoryfloor

Randolph’s Leap

Joanna Gruesome

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Daniel Lopatin delivers another finely-wrought album of boldly experimental electronica, this time making his Warp Records debut. Although the album’s construction and intricate structure will be familiar to fans of Lopatin’s earlier work, the sonic palette is refreshed, with a joyful, almost tropical feel to the synths, which bubble and shimmer with an exuberance seldom seen in Oneohtrix Point Never’s sometimes gloomy, downbeat soundscapes. Chopped and timestretched vocal samples are used as instrumentation, while the melodic counterpoints take in everything from gently-plucked shamisen (He She) to vaporwave synths (Americans, Boring Angel), to yearning strings (the beatless palimpsest of Inside World). The improvised feel of some of the passages nods to cosmic jazz, but structurally, each track contains distinct movements, bearing out the occasional comparisons made between Lopatin’s work and classical composition. A visionary artist at the height of his powers, this is in many ways his most accessible and uplifting work so far. Tremendous. [Bram E. Gieben] Playing Glasgow’s CCA on 1 Oct www.pointnever.com

Real Anymore [Olive Grove, 9 Sep] It’s tough to dislike a band like Randolph’s Leap. Their bright, a-bit-folk-but-kinda-indierock sound, and sharp as a box of self-reverential brass tacks ethos, fits so neatly into the Scottish tradition. And even though the band themselves acknowledge the above in the chuckle-worthy Indie King, it doesn’t make it any less true, or any less difficult for the nine members to carve out a unique identity. Founder and frontman Adam Ross has clearly given the ‘twee label some thought, and decided that wit will out (or that he couldn’t give a cup of camomile tea what anybody calls his band...) This mini-album is peppered with enough laugh-out-loud lines to make a stand up comic blush; Psychic – the tale of a skint worker turning to clairvoyance phonecalls to make ends meet – is a particular treasure. Though it’s the opening, more sombre note of Conversation which hints at the emotional heft of which the band are capable, after the laughs have subsided. [PJ Meiklem] Playing Glasgow’s Glad Cafe on 6 Sep randolphsleap.bandcamp.com

Weird Sister [Fortuna Pop!, 9 Sep] Rough-hewn fuzz merchants and indie pop sensations Joanna Gruesome named their debut album Weird Sister – a Shakespearean nod to the witches from Macbeth, and all things hysterical and outsiderish, it seems. Unsurprisingly then, the album itself scores highly in the disciplines of wailing and stubborn defiance. It’s all scuzzy pop melodies and boy/girl vocals engaging a war of attrition. So far, so Yuck, but there’s an underlying punk attitude that comes out of the woodwork on the likes of Secret Surprise which allows Joanna Gruesome to neatly sidestep the majority of their grubby dream-pop contemporaries. Lemonade Grrrl seizes the lemons of all things Portland and Riot Grrrl, sweetened with Alanna McArdle’s gentle but fearless vocals. Satan reveals a more delicate side to the Cardiff-based five piece. It closes the explosively raucous album with subtle ease, showing that beneath their carefully orchestrated rowdiness, Joanna Gruesome know precisely what they’re doing. [Lucy Holt] joannagruesome.bandcamp.com

Delorean

King Khan and the Shrines

Midday Veil

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Apar [True Panther, 9 Sep] For a band named after a time machine, Delorean could do with working on their timing. Apar arrives at the tail end of a summer it could, in another universe, have soundtracked from the start, with its dazzling production and dreamy demeanour tailor-made for dawn afterparties. With fewer vocal samples and a greater emphasis on lyric-led songwriting than on last album Subiza, Apar moves the Basqueborn, Barcelona-based quartet incrementally away from the dancefloor while retaining that intangible ‘eyes close/arms in the air’ hedonistic feel. It takes their style to a stable already occupied by Passion Pit, recent M83 and Chairlift, so it’s fitting to hear the latter’s Caroline Polachek on highlight Unhold – a glittery whirligig that pivots around her warped vocal. Elsewhere, the closing Still You is their most overt cap-doff in New Order’s direction, and with a beating heart beneath the flash and flair, Delorean’s future looks bright indeed. [Chris Buckle]

Review

Factory Floor

Oneohtrix Point Never

R Plus Seven [Warp, 30 Sep]

swathed in static and distortion; the basslines nod to his more recent, funk and boom-bap inspired breaks for Serengeti, or to Anticon’s more song-based output on tracks like Bubble. Jel is right to say that “motherfuckers are late” to recognise his talent – as the beatsmith behind Themselves and Deep Puddle Dynamics, he defined the Anticon sound, and his majestic solo work deserves wider attention. In particular, the grinding, fuzzedout psychedelia of Look Up is superlative, but the beauty of his work is its consistency – this is an album that demands to be listened to as a whole, preferably on vinyl, and experienced in its raw, uncut form in the live arena. [Bram E. Gieben]

Idle No More [Merge, 23 Sep]

The Current [Translinguistic Other, 2 Sep]

This Berlin-based collective, known for their anarchic live performances, combine influences including Sun Ra, James Brown, the Velvet Underground and the Monks; and while Idle No More is somewhat more coherent and controlled than that melange might suggest, it does succeed in fusing elements of jazz, soul, funk and garage into something that still retains an air of effortless spontaneity. The restlessly uptempo rhythm section rarely lets up, but the variation in styles prevents the LP’s insistent tone from grating. As Khan himself notes, Idle No More is probably the outfit’s most refined release yet, but it succeeds in exploring some impressively accomplished arrangements and structures without losing the Shrines’ immediacy and intensity. The LP might be in thrall to the past, but the exuberant energy of these songs, coupled with the gloriously bright, trebly production, demonstrates a rare ability to mix diverse ingredients into a punchy and cohesive whole. [Sam Wiseman]

In terms of tone and atmosphere, the second LP from this Seattle psych-rock sextet brings to mind similarly trippy work by stoner rock outfits like Om, although the bruising riffs are eschewed for an emphasis on analogue synths. Throw in Emily Pothast’s ritualistic vocal delivery and the rhythm section’s penchant for hypnotic grooves, and The Current acquires an authentic 70s space-rock character, while retaining a distinctive edge through its particular combinations of those elements. The approach is most accomplished on the 11-minute closer Great Cold of the Night, on which David Golightly’s synth arpeggios underpin slow-burning guitars, ultimately building into a wall of squalling noise. However, The Current does tend to rely upon repetition to maintain its energy, and on instrumentals like Choreia, it cries out for Pothast’s powerful vocals to renew its focus; yet Midday Veil’s studied understanding of their influences ensures there are peaks of genuine intensity here. [Sam Wiseman]

kingkhanmusic.com

www.middayveil.com

RECORDS

THE SKINNY

Touché Amoré

Volcano Choir

The National Jazz Trio of Scotland

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Is Survived By [Deathwish Inc., 23 Sep] Following on from a series of strong split releases, L.A.’s most inviting hardcore outfit make their highly anticipated return. Less immediate than their 2011 breakthrough – the stellar Parting the Sea Between Brightness and Me – Is Survived By distances itself from straight-up aggression and finds the band on experimental form. Harbour is mid-tempo by their standards and concentrates more on texture and melody, whereas Non-Fiction builds up in its first half before bursting into cathartic release in its climax. Jeremy Bolm’s impassioned screams carry echoes of other post-hardcore vocalists more so than usual; he’ll often break into a half-spoken word style reminiscent of La Dispute’s Jordan Dreyer. The lyrics are painfully honest and head straight for the gut, carrying the rare ability to resonate with people’s lives in truly profound ways. There’s a big, beating heart at the centre of the chaos. [Ross Watson]

Repave [Jagjaguwar, 2 Sep] Emerging in For Emma…’s slipstream, Volcano Choir’s 2009 debut couldn’t help but be framed in relation to Justin Vernon’s other creative outlet. With its prominent electronics and poppier bent, Unmap was received in some quarters as Vernon’s Give Up, but any comparisons with the Death Cab/Postal Service dyad must surely expire with the arrival of Repave. Not only does Volcano Choir’s recorded output now match Bon Iver two-for-two, but the quality and clarity of these eight tracks makes it difficult to justify its relegation to the status of junior partner. Credit is of course due to the band’s non-Vernon contingent (current and former members of Collections of Colonies of Bees), who wind back the glitches and deliver something more straightforwardly anthemic this time out – for instance, Acetate’s groupsung coda. But with his characteristic vocals front and centre, Vernon remains pivotal to the end result’s success. [Chris Buckle]

Standards Vol. II [Karaoke Kalk, 16 Sep]

As if the double fib in their name wasn’t enough (not jazz; not a trio), Standards Vol. 2 is not, as its title implies, an assortment culled from the songbooks of Gershwin et al. Rather, it’s a collection of bandleader Bill Wells’ original compositions (give or take a borrowed lyric and a Moondog cover), brought to life with the help of vocalists Lorna Gilfedder, Aby Vulliamy and Kate Sugden. Try not to hold the dastardly deception against them though, for no amount of misdirection can distract from the airy beauty stamped through these thirteen pieces: from wistful opener We Grow Accustomed (sounding of a piece with Wells’ Lemondale work) to the hushed farewells of closer Unexpectedly, via such highlights as Hillwalks’ winsome glide and Things We Got Up To’s tiptoeing bossa nova undertones. In fact, add another lie to the rap sheet: work of this calibre is far from standard. [Chris Buckle] www.karaokekalk.de

Adrian Utley’s Guitar Orchestra

65daysofstatic

Seams

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In C [Invada, 30 Sep]

Wild Light [Superball Music, 16 Sep]

Quarters [Full Time Hobby, 16 Sep]

Composed in 1964, Terry Riley’s In C is one of the landmarks of minimalist composition, comprising 53 musical phrases in the key of C; Riley’s emphasis on the role of interpretation and improvisation has ensured that the piece allows for seemingly infinite variations. Here, Portishead’s Adrian Utley brings together an orchestra of 19 electric guitarists, four organists and a bass clarinet, in a sumptuous version recorded live at St George’s Hall in Bristol. While the concept of the guitar orchestra may bring to mind the epic swathes of sound utilised by Rhys Chatham, in Utley’s hands the individual instruments are more pronounced. No waves of distortion or feedback are permitted to disrupt the piece’s gentle progression, although there are passages of ambient noise, which feel dreamier and less structured than in other interpretations. Utley thus succeeds in demonstrating the distinctive potential of the guitar to bring out new elements of Riley’s endlesslyadaptable composition. [Sam Wiseman]

‘No one knows what is happening...’ repeats a ghostly voice at the start of Wild Light. A bleak way to begin, you could reason, but then the synth kicks in: big, blustering, almost operatic in its futuristic grandeur, stately in gait. The vocal sample implies nihilism and helplessness; the music suggests it’s not too late, or at the very least, we can make a bit of a racket until it is. 65daysofstatic’s fifth studio album maintains their patented blend of instrumental guitar-driven electronica, but they seem more confident than ever in exploring darker, weirder territories. Tone and pace switch without a moment’s notice – the scattershot mathy energy of knowingly-titled Sleepwalk City contrasts sharply with the pared down acoustics of subsequent track Taipei. Safe Passage, meanwhile, offers an appropriately epic epilogue, drenching your ears with a collapsed dam of beatific noise. Basic post-rock blueprints are still under the bonnet, but 65daysofstatic have somehow emerged more original than ever. [John Nugent]

The debut LP from James Welch, a Berlin-based British producer, moves beyond the understated tone of his previous work towards a more explicitly dancefloor-oriented approach. While the BPMs on Quarters are at the slower end of the 4/4 techno spectrum, Welch’s deft use of shuffling snares and high-hats generates an air of restless enthusiasm; and his ear for dreamy, Nathan Fake-esque melodies (particularly on Constants and Sitcom Apartment) also contributes to the record’s playful vitality. Quarters has no pretensions to grandiose themes – Welch himself explains that he was not concerned with any ‘overarching concept’ in the process of composition – and each track feels self-contained, the realisation of a specific, isolated vision. As a result, the LP can feel slight, and lacking in narrative direction; yet it’s impressive in both its consistency, and its integration of a dancefloor sensibility with a characteristic emphasis on melody and texture. [Sam Wiseman]

www.invada.co.uk

65daysofstatic play The Liquid Room, Edinburgh on 22 Sep

seams.bandcamp.com

Machinedrum

Manic Street Preachers

Sebadoh

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Vapor City [Ninja Tune, 23 Sep] After a slew of releases on labels like LuckyMe, and a stunning album for Planet Mu, 2011’s Room(s), Machinedrum returns with his Ninja Tune debut, reportedly “inspired by a dream city” in the artist’s mind. From Gunshotta’s opening, which sounds like a fistfight between Burial and Congo Natty – with the former’s glacial calm and timestretched vocals battling the latter’s infectious jungle rhythms and muted ragga vocal stabs – it’s a fascinating place to visit, taking in rhythmic flourishes from juke and footwork (Infinite Us), dreamy electronic shoegaze and hypercolour synths (Center Your Love), to the gothic, R‘n’B-inspired night-work of oOoOO (U Still Lie). Far from a dystopia, Vapor City is an enchanting destination, and the complex, interlocking styles on show align with remarkable coherence. Machinedrum is one of the most inventive producers at the high-tempo end of modern bass music, and this is his strongest, most coherent work to date. [Bram E. Gieben] machinedrum.net

Jesu

Everyday I Get Closer To The Light From Which I Came [Avalanche Recordings, 23 Sep]

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2011’s Ascension showcased the guitar-led melancholia present on past Jesu staples, but it lacked the aweinspiring sense of atmosphere that made Justin Broadrick’s postGodflesh guise such an alluring presence in the first place. He consciously addresses that record’s shortcomings here, reinstating the right textures and moods while continuing to look forward. The arrival of his first child likely inspired the record’s light, wondrous tone; Comforter radiates pain and beauty in equal measure, whereas Homesick’s low-tuned shoegaze harks back to the Silver EP’s grey-hued romanticism. The Great Leveller is the weighty, dynamic, 17-minute centrepiece, featuring a one-man orchestra masterminded by Italian composer Nicola Manzan. Those expecting to find the ghost of Godflesh at this point in the game would be to misunderstand Broadrick’s intentions with Jesu: this is grand, introspective music, slow-moving and soul-searching. [Ross Watson]

Rewind the Film [Columbia, 16 Sep] With five singers and a musical style that veers from folk, through motown via euphoric indie rock and back to cinematic brooding, the Manics’ eleventh album is a strange, disparate beast. Opener, This Sullen Welsh Heart, has bassist Nicky Wire singing like a man on a long walk home after closing time, before frontman James Dean Bradfield saves it with a reflection on identity and defiance. The number of vocalists adds as much as it detracts, giving Rewind the feel of a rarities collection more than a record with something unique to say for itself. Folksters Lucy Rose and Cate Le Bon’s contributions are lovely – their own understated, wistful tones adding layers to the overall introspection and sadness, while veteran Sheffield rock’n’roll troubadour Richard Hawley is less impressive on the ponderous title track. Their teeth are finally bared on album closer 30 Year War, with an attack on the Government’s 'endless parade of Etonian scum,' but their fondness for ending records on a duff tune hamstrings the admirable sentiment, leaving it hard to shake the feeling that the Manic Street Preachers still have better in them. [PJ Meiklem]

Esmerine

Dalmak [Constellation, 2 Sep]

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Initially, the first outing from Constellation mainstays Esmerine since 2011’s La Lechuza signals no departures from their chamber sound: opener Learning to Crawl is a subtle, meditative string-led piece. The LP title, however – a Turkish verb meaning to contemplate or be absorbed within – indicates a new trajectory for the Montreal quartet, who recorded much of Dalmak in Istanbul, where they collaborated with local musicians. The resulting record perfectly balances Esmerine’s darkly ambient leanings with folk rhythms and instrumentation. It’s a blend that works most effectively on Dalmak’s two-part tracks, Lost River Blues and Translator’s Clos: the former builds from a swamp of strings and marimba into a rocky, lolloping crescendo; the latter is a more grandiose epic, drawing upon classical Turkish instruments including bendir, darbuka and erbane. In lesser hands, fusing Eastern and Western traditions in this way can have cringey results, but Esmerine mesh them together seamlessly. [Sam Wiseman]

Defend Yourself [Domino, 16 Sep] Lou Barlow’s place in rock lore is already sealed via Dinosaur Jr. basslines and fronting cult heroes Sebadoh, so the 47-year-old can just put his feet up, right? Well, no, it turns out the quiet life isn’t for Barlow – after a fourteen year absence from the studio, Sebadoh are back with Defend Yourself. Much in the same way that the mid-noughties return of Dinosaur Jr. return cemented rather than soiled the band’s reputation, this record is a good reminder of why the furious, distorted guitars of Sebadoh are still revered. Barlow’s rough twang holds it all together rather well, with Can’t Depend’s more laconic sound allowing him to leisurely articulate the angst that only a forty-something ‘slacker’ can truly feel. Inquiries is a slight misfire; its yee-haw novelty rockabilly shtick jars badly with the rest of the record, which concentrates on drawing out the band’s fractured melodic aggression. Still, the young pretenders of US alt rock really should be taking notes. [Stu Lewis] sebadoh.com

The Top Five 1 2 3 4 5

Jel

Late Pass

Oneohtrix Point Never

R Plus Seven

CHVRCHES

The Bones Of What You Believe

RM Hubbert

Breaks & Bone

Factory Floor

Playing Glasgow Stereo on 19 Sep

September 2013

RECORDS

Review

THE SKINNY

Closer to the Light

Producer, remixer and extreme music pioneer Justin K. Broadrick gets existential, reflecting on a long career and dissecting the odd relationship between his two main projects, Godflesh and Jesu

t isn’t easy to put the work of Justin K. Broadrick into context. As a teenager, the Birminghamborn polymath was already making dark, atmospheric sounds with his first project Final before briefly joining Napalm Death in the mid-1980s, laying the groundwork for the grindcore genre with his contributions to their debut album Scum. He’s perhaps best known for founding Godflesh, one of the first bands to fuse heavy metal with industrial music. This doesn’t even touch on his prolific career as a producer, remixer and record label founder - his collaborations with The Bug’s Kevin Martin as Techno Animal (the two met when Martin heard Godflesh on Peel and offered to put on their first ever show), or his recent, gentler work with his post-Godflesh band Jesu. Speaking to The Skinny via telephone from his home by the sea in North Wales, he opens the conversation by admitting that, in all those years working at an inhuman pace, he’s never quite found the time to learn how to drive. “I’ve just been out for three hours almost crashing the fucking car,” he jokes. “At half six I’ve got some work in the studio I’ve got to finish to a deadline, and then I’ve been having to do what they ironically call a crash course in driving. I’ve been pressured by my partner at the age of forty-three, ‘cause I’ve got a two year-old son. I’ll be doing school runs soon, and otherwise no one else can do it. I don’t want to drive at all, ‘cause I know I’m a danger to myself and the public...” Having aired his ‘normal guy’ problems, Broadrick begins to cautiously differentiate himself from his misplaced reputation as a metalhead, bigging up punk bands like Crass and Discharge: “Essentially, I see myself as a punk artist. That’s the first music I connected with. It’s the music that both spiritually and aesthetically informed my work from day one. Metal was an afterthought. It only occurred to me when it sounded more punk rock. I don’t consider myself to be an accomplished musician – a lot of metal musicians pride themselves on that. I feel like I’m that same kid pushing away instinctively at anything I can to try and get a result. I don’t think I’m a great guitarist – I’m not! I’m just a little bit

September 2013

Interview: Ross Watson

off-centre and that gives me some sense of style. That’s what was great about punk for me: it was from the heart, and even though it was a mess, it could still hold a lot of power. Ultimately I’m a punk musician, or, really, a post-punk musician. Terms like post-metal don’t really compute with me.” Playing with Godflesh was the first time Broadrick was truly exposed to a metal audience. Streetcleaner, their first proper full-length, was released in 1989. A claustrophobic assault of primal drum-machine blasts, punishing riffs and enraged vocals, it was an absolute game changer. Initial audience reactions on an early stint supporting Napalm Death were less than enthusiastic, though, as he recalls: “They were extremely offended. We weren’t playing fast. It was too slow, too minimal for them, which to me is the beauty of it all. It was texture over showy musicianship.” Noise rock kids assumed that Big Black were Broadrick’s primary influence with Godflesh, but his sources of inspiration for the iconic drum sounds on Streetcleaner couldn’t have been further from heavy metal. Instead, he professes his admiration for the classic hip-hop records of the mid-eighties. “That’s what I was really attracted to. It was those records. Even that first Eric B and Rakim album still sounds fairly surreal to this day. I was into a lot of those early electro compilations in 84 and that sort of thing. I was just really enamoured by that sound, the same way that I was into Kraftwerk and early Human League records when I was a kid. I’d always been attracted to electronic music – I always was and still am now. ” Broadrick views Godflesh as a bastardisation of the genres it’s often associated with: “It’s body music. It goes beyond the obvious limitations of conventional metal, punk, and so on. That’s how I see it myself. It’s a very brutal form of dance music.” After the initial disintegration of Godflesh in 2002, Broadrick formed Jesu amid a slew of personal problems. Though the early releases contained traces of his old band’s sound, there’s a pop and shoegaze core to his work under that moniker. “Godflesh is the ball of frustration – the ritual violence that comes out of repression and

council estates and all the shit that I grew up with,” Broadrick explains. “Jesu is introspective – the melancholia associated with a lot of my childhood and so on. It’s definitely driven by naked, raw and very personal emotions.” Jesu’s fourth proper LP, Everyday I Get Closer to the Light From Which I Came, lands this month. Broadrick’s meditation on birth and death, it was inspired by the arrival of his first child. “It’s a perception of how I see things, how I wish things were and how I wish things were not. It’s funny – I don’t take anything lightly. I’m one of those guys who’s just hypersensitive. People have children all the time. It’s nothing new. I ain’t doing nothing special here, but it’s had one of the hugest impacts on me. It just affects everything. It’s hard for me to see how this is not a big deal.”

“I’m that same kid, pushing away instinctively at anything I can” Justin K. Broadrick

Consisting of four shorter tracks and a grand, 17-minute epic entitled The Great Leveller, there’s only one collaborator other than Broadrick himself: Italian composer Nicola Manzan, who plays as a one man band under the name Bologna Violenta. The pair met when Manzan supported Godflesh at a show in Italy this past March: “He does some soundtrack stuff for Italian films,” Broadrick elaborates. “He’s a classically trained pianist, cellist and all the rest of it. I took all the stuff I programmed, sent it to him and within a week he’d commanded this entire orchestra in its place. He really makes that piece. There’s all these subtleties, nuances.” With Closer to the Light, Broadrick expresses his desire to restore a certain balance to the project. Following Ascension’s release in 2011, he concedes that Jesu weathered something of an

Music

identity crisis: “When I was in the midst of making it, I was so focused on writing these guitar songs. It’s like all of a sudden I was trying to be Dinosaur Jr., as opposed to what [2006 EP] Silver was, which was literally an examination of a set of melancholy moods. There were no bottom lines in terms of instrumentation. I had to loosen the reins and approach this record and say ‘these are the bottom lines, this is how it affects me and how I hope it will affect the listener.’ It’s not eclectic; it’s just dynamic, and that’s something I’m really glad to reach again.” Broadrick has said in the past that Jesu is a difficult beast to present live, but he’s now confident in its potential as a touring prospect: “We did play loads live around the Silver record and the Conqueror album – toured the U.S. twice, Europe, France, Japan, and I was exhausted from it. I was performing badly, drinking too much alcohol, destroying my voice. In support of this record we’re going to start playing again. It’s going to be presented much more professionally. I’m looking after myself much better, and I’ll get closer to hitting them notes, basically.” It’s not just Jesu that’s going through a positive transformation. Broadrick reformed Godflesh with original member G.C. Green in 2010, playing shows that effectively capture the energy and excitement of their early days. “Without Godflesh, Jesu would have gone further up its own arse. That’s the way it was going,” he confesses. “I needed something as intensely self-disciplined as Godflesh for me to be able to loosen the reigns with Jesu.” Though progress has been slow, Broadrick reiterates that a new album is in the works: “It’s gotten to a point where we’re almost done with the demos, and we’ll start recording around November. It’ll come out May next year. I made the mistake of saying it’d be out in September when we didn’t even get the demos down in the end... Thanks to Jesu, this new Godflesh album will be so direct and far from eclectic – it’s going to be punishing.” Everyday I Get Closer to the Light From Which I Came is released on 23 Sep via Avalanche Recordings justinkbroadrick.blogspot.com

Feature

Exploring the Depths Having released new EP Shimmer last month, Kevin McHugh, aka Ambivalent, discusses his collaboration with Michael L Penman, repetition, and the ‘V’ word… Interview: Calum Sutherland lllustration: Verbals Picks

evin McHugh is a master of understatement. Ever-present in the world of underground electronic music yet never known to seek the limelight, his output since the 2006 debut EP Roomies has seen the producer go from strength to strength, consistently maintaining a solid groove of stripped down funk and hard-hitting minimalism. Anyone familiar with the M_nus back catalogue will undoubtedly be aware of Ambivalent as one of the more subtle proponents of the techno behemoth’s sound. From 2007’s R U OK to the _ground mix album of last year, McHugh’s delivery of sleek, stripped back, yet fully immersive soundscapes are exemplary of one of the most inventive, thoughtful and self aware electronic artists working in this particular branch of dance music today. In more recent years, the US born producer’s style and sound have evolved into a dark, grooving and often revelatory approach to modern techno, which solidifies his live sets and infects his productions. His latest outing, a collaboration with Michael L Penman, sees a continuation of this path paired with the young Scottish producer’s own inimitable sound. The London-based artist and sound designer has been bubbling just underneath the surface for some years now. With a trickle of releases on the Slovakian minimal imprint Leporelo, Penman has recently been receiving airplay from the likes of Dubfire and Richie Hawtin, who utilised his Wa track to devastating effect on his most recent Essential Mix for Radio 1. Previously lending his considerable production talents to, amongst others, Gwen Stefani, Switch and Photek, Penman’s decision to depart from more mainstream climes is a statement which he can be assured was right and just. Anyone who has had the pleasure of hearing one of his wall-bending sets would surely testify not only to the unique and intoxicating environment which he creates but also the sense that there is so much more yet to come. And so Shimmer arrived last month, glistening with hypnotic monochrome grooves and enrapturing percussion, held together by a solid structural framework of no-holds-barred bass punches and impeccable production. It is a three-track statement of intent, which traverses genre with nods to the past, present and future. Taken individually, all three tracks stand out in their own right – jostling for position, each is unique in its approach and ambitions. How did your relationship with Michael come about and what led to the decision to release an EP together? I found Michael’s music on Soundcloud about three years ago, and I was really impressed. There’s a level of skill in his production that was really a cut above a lot of what I was hearing. I reached out to him and he started sending me music pretty regularly. I included a number of his tracks on a mix CD last year, and at one point he was in Berlin so I invited him to my studio. Collaboration is such a weird chemistry experiment – it can take off and go wonderfully, or it can flatline. But he and I shared a really common language and things went really well. There’s a distinct divergence between the three tracks: Shimmer, Memogram, and Chevalier. Was this intentional or a natural occurrence? Could you say that the individual nature of each of the tracks almost sets them

Preview

against each other? I’m a firm believer in approaching any piece of music on its own terms. Particularly in dance music and electronic music, people select individual tracks to play in DJ sets, so they don’t have to relate to each other too much the way they might on an album. To me, they do have a heavy common reference to 90s techno, which, as the old guy in the pair, is probably more my fault! After listening to the EP for the first time, I felt like I was almost lulled into a false sense of security. I ended up hearing Memogram last, and imagined I’d just been clubbed over the head by it. With the other two tracks (and the previous question) in mind, what do you think about that? Well, I think there’s something there in the relationship between the tracks that has more to do with approaching production as DJs. Both Michael and I have broad interests, and our sets tend to span a number of influences. As a DJ, you can often have a much wider remit, and that can definitely make its way into your production if you let it. I really like that aspect, truthfully. I’d rather buy a record with three distinct ideas over one idea that’s repeated to varying success. Your recent remix of Sian’s The Policeman Inside You was another particularly heavy cut. One of the things I like so much about your work is that you never repeat yourself, despite producing so many winning formulas –do you intentionally adhere to this or am I making stuff up here? It’s nice to hear that, and yes you’re on to something. I wouldn’t claim that I’ve never repeated myself, but I’ve never been willing to make the easy answer. If I have repeated myself, it’s generally been a matter of coming back to something I’d previously turned off. I’d much prefer to surprise and disappoint than always play to type. You’ve been DJing and producing for over a decade now, how has your approach to performance changed over the years, and how do you feel about getting closer to being considered a ‘veteran’ (relatively speaking!) of the scene? Yikes! The ‘V’ word! Well, I’ve never fought in a war, and I like to think I’m not so terribly old yet, but I guess I’ve seen some things come and go. I think it does help to have seen some big waves pass by, because people tend to believe that what’s hot now will never go cold, and it inevitably does. What are your most significant non-musical influences, and why? Well, I would say history, particularly the history of art. I think it’s always a good roadmap to understanding how ideas and artists move through history. The pace on everything has sped up recently, and I think we all feel it. What happened three months ago becomes ancient so quickly, and it’s edifying to see how culture moved and adapted in past centuries. We see history in hyperspeed anyway, so it helps when we’re living in such high-speed times now. I remember reading somewhere that you used to be involved in making multimedia art installations? What was it you were doing and when did you decide to stick with electronic music as your chosen medium? I was working for an organisation called Creative

Time that produced artists’ works in public spaces all over New York City. They were sometimes multimedia pieces, and sometimes I programmed electronic music events to coincide with the installations. It definitely helped form a different set of ideas for me about how electronic music functions outside club culture. In the end, I guess choosing music as my focus was a matter of finding the thing that had the most immediate satisfaction for me. In an interview with The Quietus recently, Robert Hood was talking about how electronic music has its own category at The Grammys now, and what the ‘mainstream’ perception of dance music is. With the emergence of, for lack of a better term, ‘EDM’ how have you observed this change in the US in recent years? Here’s where I am with this at the moment: I’m old enough to remember seeing this story repeat itself a few times. In the late 80s and early 90s, there was a wave of pop music adopting the voice of underground club culture. That was when music like Technotronic, Snap, and C&C Music

CLUBS

Factory was making its way into productions by pop artists like Paula Abdul and Madonna and others. A few years later everyone would giggle at how ‘dated’ that stuff sounded. Then there was another try at it in ‘97 and ‘98 where suddenly Fatboy Slim, the Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers were on MTV and mainstream radio, and just as quickly they were out of the spotlight. But none of those things were ever capable of relating the feeling of your fourth hour in a pumping dark room with incredible music you’ve never heard before taking you on a massive adventure. There is no Grammy award for the people in those scenarios. Mainstream celebrity culture will always be looking to catch its next quick high, and yet the core experience will never be touched. It’s almost as if that mass pop culture is a fisher picking out what it can find and moving on, but never seeing the whole ecology that exists on the ocean floor. I’m perfectly happy down here, and have no fear of what’s up above. Ambivalent’s collaboration with Michael L Penman, Shimmer, is out now

THE SKINNY

Clubbing Highlights

This month’s more compact highlights column packs in the likes of UK techno icon Regis, bass music producer Addison Groove and booty-goading ghetto house showman DJ Funk...

2 Many Djs

September 2013

Photo: Bertrand from Paris

Words: Ronan Martin

n Glasgow, Saint Judes further strengthens its position with new weekly Thursday night party, Different Drum. The event kicks off with a set from Bristolian dubstep producer Mensah Anderson under his New York Transit Authority moniker, through which he delves into house sounds and punchy 808-driven electro rhythms (Thu 5 Sep, £3 before 12, £5 after). On Friday 6 September, Sub Club welcomes esteemed DJ, and Surgeon collaborator, Regis to town for Animal Farm. Owner of Downwards Records, the Birmingham-bred producer has been at the forefront of the British techno scene since the early 90s. Support comes from Shifted (£12). The same night sees deep house and nudisco producer Cottam visit Saint Judes (£5 before 12, £8 after). September sees The Arches twinned with Berlin’s Watergate club to host the Made for the Night event, boasting an impressive line-up of house acts including Chicago legend Chez Damier, Made To Play bossman Jesse Rose and DJ Jus-Ed (Sat 7 Sep, £10 earlybird, £15 after). The same night, influential Glaswegian DJ duo, Harri and Domenic set sail to take on their equally revered Sub Club counterparts, Twitch and Wilkes of Optimo (Board boat from Glasgow Science Centre at 6.30pm, £25 advance). As far as live acts go, Bulgarian producer Strahil Velchev aka KiNK is one of the most exciting performers around. With a back catalogue brimming with quality, including his brilliant collaborations with Neville Watson, Velchev has gained acclaim for his various interpretations of house music, from the deep and chilled out to more jacking material. If his last Boiler Room set is anything to go by, KiNK will come to La Cheetah with an armoury of hardware in tow, promising something rather special (Fri 13 Sep, £10). Offbeat have steadily been making a name

for themselves over the past year or so and this month they’ve bagged a set from ever-animated ghetto house pioneer, DJ Funk. If the Chicagobased selector is at his best, this is set to be one of the best nights in recent months, with La Cheetah likely to turn into a steaming sweatbox before you can shout “hold up, wait a minute” (Fri 20 Sep, £10 advance). In Edinburgh, The Picture House celebrates its 5th birthday with Musika bringing mash-up masters 2 Many DJs to the city, offering techno obscurities, amid familiar classics (Fri 6 Sep, £19.50 advance). The following Thursday, Juice hosts an evening with bass music trend setter Addison Groove who puts a UK spin on the infectious Chicago juke sound (Sneaky Pete’s, Thu 12 Sep, £3, free for members). The following weekend, Bixon has lined up a set from Bristol-based Dutchman October, whose releases have found a home on such celebrated labels as AUS and Skudge. Label boss behind Caravan, Julian Smith’s sound takes in everything from house and techno to dub and disco and, with a varied back catalogue stretching back to 2003, he has proven himself to be a prolific talent (Sneaky Pete’s, Fri 20 Sep, £5). Finally, another birthday night sees Ultragroove celebrate 14 years doing their thing in the capital. To mark the occasion they have secured the considerable talents of Motor City Drum Ensemble for the evening. Danilo Plessow has countless exquisite house tracks to his name, including the rich and soulful Raw Cuts series of records which continue to shine around five years after their release. Since then, Plessow has developed his sound and has produced for the likes of 20:20 Vision and Studio !K7, compiling a mix for the latter’s celebrated DJ Kicks series (511, Sat 28 Sep, £10).

September Film Events Words: Becky Bartlett

T Mister John

Mister John

Director: Joe Lawlor, Christine Molloy Starring: Aidan Gillen, Zoe Tae, Claire Keelan, Michael Thomas Released: 27 Sep Certificate: 15

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This cinematic enigma opens with reflections dissolving into one another on the surface of a lake. Like those merging images the film shows a distorted truth: an exotic fantasy punctuated with surreal dark humour. Aidan Gillen is Gerry, brother of the deceased, drowned John; the Irish owner of a Singapore hostess bar. He has travelled east towards his estranged inlaws, but most importantly away from domestic trouble at home. Like last year’s Berberian Sound Studio, this is a complex experiment on evolving identity and the need to escape a damaged life. While Peter Strickland’s film hid in the dark excitement of giallo, here Gerry runs from grief through a humid, post-colonial illusion. A snake bite acts as a shamanistic doorway: Gerry’s life becomes a sweat-drenched delirium, peaking in a fever dream scene reminiscent of Miike. But themes also stray close to Houellebecq’s Platform. The East opens its legs to be exploited by sleazy white men. Dialogue is stilted and unnatural, widening the separation between truth and fiction in which this challenging, disjointed film exists. [Alan Bett]

Kelly + Victor

Director: Kieran Evans Starring: Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Julian Morris Released: 20 Sep Certificate: 18

The Great Hip Hop Hoax

Director: Jeanie Finlay Starring: Gavin Bain, Billy Boyd Released: 6 Sep Certificate: 18

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A follow-up to Sound it Out, her 2011 documentary about a Teeside record shop, Jeanie Finlay forays into darker aspects of the music industry with The Great Hip Hop Hoax. Described by subject Billy as, “the lies behind the lies behind the lies,” it follows the rise and fall of a pair of Scottish musicians who, in a search for musical fame and fortune, donned phoney American accents. In a Behind the Music fashion, Finlay follows Silibil N’ Brain's trajectory from Dundee clubs to MTV’s TRL through interviews and archive footage of the boys behaving extremely badly. Early on, Finlay’s doc trades on its frenetic energy and some suitable shock value, but as the story progresses and Jackass moments proliferate, these deplorable characters and their elaborate and unrelatable egos become increasingly tiring. Some of the film’s most interesting moments come from the pathological behaviour of its subjects, but the wall of lies is as impenetrable as the search for sympathetic characters in this documentary of the damned. [Nicola Balkind] Released 6 Sep by Vertigo Film

Bill Murray, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Filth

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Director: Jon S. Baird Starring: James McAvoy, Jamie Bell, Imogen Poots, Eddie Marsan, Joanne Froggart, Jim Broadbent Released: 27 Sep Certificate: 18

Adapted from Niall Griffiths’ novel of the same name, Evans’ debut follows the perilously intense relationship between two Liverpudlian twenty-somethings. After meeting in a club, Kelly (Campbell-Hughes) and Victor (Morris) go home together. They start having sex, but it quickly takes an unexpected turn: she (with his consent) begins strangling him until he almost passes out. Such encounters recur with greater intensity as their relationship progresses, each an ecstatic peak in their otherwise quotidian lives. What’s remarkable about these scenes is the skill with which Evans, aided by the leads’ rapturous performances, combines violence with tenderness, and thereby captures the complementary, turbulent yet harmonious nature of Kelly and Victor’s relationship. If only they didn’t have to talk. Not only are their Scouse accents risible, much of their dialogue is soapishly clunky. Their intimacy, so authentic and vital when non-verbal, feels a little like fakery as soon as they open their mouths. In all seriousness, as a silent film it could’ve been a small masterpiece; as it is, it falls short. [James Beckett]

Bruce ‘the Stallion’ Robertson: alcoholic, drug addict, compulsive liar, amoral sociopath, sexual pervert – and senior Detective Sergeant. This cheeky adaptation of the novel by Irvine Welsh is a giddy dive into the bleak underbelly of Scottish policing. Bruce (James McAvoy), as with many of Welsh’s anti-heroes, is a ruthless hedonist with a silver tongue, gunning for a top promotion at any cost. But apparitions of his wife and brother (estranged? dead?) suggest he is more complex than your average Glaswegian dipsomaniac. McAvoy, whose formative years were spent in Drumchapel, clearly revels in playing a grotesque, scheming bastard, and he’s never been better. Yet in spite of the often grisly material (we witness forced underage fellatio within the first twenty minutes) director Jon S. Baird keeps things broad and playful. The odd tone – a Brit-com head with a gritty arthouse heart – won’t be for all tastes, but for the most part, it’s savagely entertaining: a cathartic, darkly funny portrait of self-destruction. [John Nugent]

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Released on 20 Sep by Verve Pictures Ltd

Released 27 Sep in Scotland; out 4 Oct across the rest of the UK

About Time

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints

Director: Richard Curtis Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy Released: 4 Sep Certificate: 12A

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Director: David Lowery Starring: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Keith Carradine, Nate Parker Released: 6 Sep Certificate: 15

Richard Curtis rounds off his trust fund trilogy with weddings (not four, thankfully) and love (not actually, mercifully) in this return to the vanilla, upper middle-class universe of comedic purgatory from which he refuses to shift. Domhnall Gleeson is awkward gangly Tim, with nothing to live for but the guarantee of a wealthy future. At 21 he discovers the ability to time travel within his lifetime by climbing into a wardrobe, fists clenched and face contorted in a constipated scowl. Instead of betting upon previous Grand Nationals, he decides to iron out the minutiae of his romantic life. Rachel McAdams plays the signature Curtis American, while Bill Nighy (admittedly always charming) as Tim’s father takes a method approach to his playing of Bill Nighy by actually existing as Bill Nighy for 63 years. Unlike the peerless Groundhog Day there is no dissection of love or the human condition here, only a syrupy river flowing away from the comedy zeitgeist that’s so sweet it should come with a shot of insulin. [Alan Bett]

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints might ultimately be a triumph of craft over content, but when the craft is this impressive it seems churlish to complain. David Lowery has clearly set out to make his second feature a mythic tale of tragic love in the west, and he certainly knows how to capture an evocative mood, with Bradford Young’s magic hour cinematography and Daniel Hart’s wonderfully imaginative score giving the film a distinctive, beguiling atmosphere. He also draws subtle and sympathetic work from Affleck and Mara as the lovers separated by the law, and an unusually subdued Foster as the cop who tries to cast himself as Mara’s protector. All the film really lacks is an emotional impact to match its gorgeous surface; the inexorable nature of the story means there’s little to surprise, and the final scenes play out much as you’d expect. Still, the film has a haunting quality that allows it to linger in the mind, and leaves us with a sense that Lowery has great work in his future. [Philip Concannon]

Review

he Grosvenor Cinema in Glasgow is screening four films showcasing some of mainstream cult star Bill Murray’s finest performances. The series starts with 80s golfing farce Caddyshack (18 Sep), featuring some of the decade’s best known comedy actors. This is followed by Groundhog Day (22 Sep), the wonderfully poignant Lost in Translation (25 Sep) and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (28 Sep). Screening chronologically, this is a great chance to see the progression of one of America’s funniest actors. Bad movie buffs should head to the Cameo in Edinburgh on 13 Sep for a screening of one of the most notorious contemporary bad films, The Room. Such is the infamy of writer-directorproducer-actor Tommy Wiseau’s debut that it poses a serious challenge to Plan 9 From Outer Space’s ‘Worst Movie of All Time’ status. Whether Wiseau appreciates this dubious claim to fame is up for debate, but one thing’s for sure – bring some friends and some plastic spoons, and a truly unforgettable cinematic experience is guaranteed.

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FILM

Here’s a fun fact: before he won an Academy Award for his work on Close Encounters of the Third Kind, cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond worked on the superbly titled (but utterly rubbish) The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed Up Zombies!!? in 1964. Sadly, this movie is not part of the Filmhouse’s selection celebrating the work of the Oscar winner. Instead, three of his more critically acclaimed, newly restored works are being shown: Heaven’s Gate (1 Sep), Deliverance (3 Sep), and Scarecrow (5 Sep) may have less interesting titles, but are undoubtedly far better examples of his cinemagraphic abilities. The DCA asked their audience to vote for their favourite films about friendship, and The Breakfast Club won. Screening on 1 Sep, this John Hughes classic is a simple story of five students stuck in detention. Featuring some of the finest high school stereotypes (geek, weirdo, bad boy, jock, princess), don’t let the clichés put you off – this is one of the quintessential 80s dramas, and is a perfect morning screening for anyone who ever felt like an outsider in school. Punk folk rocker John Otway will be at the Cameo (2 Sep) for a special Q&A following a screening of Rock and Roll’s Greatest Failure: Otway the Movie. Known for his self-deprecating humour and eccentric nature, this documentary was funded entirely by fans (who also donned Otway masks for the March of 100 Otways) and has garnered critical acclaim since it showed at Cannes. [Becky Bartlett]

Scarecrow

THE SKINNY

Hawking

Plein Soleil

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Director: Stephen Finnigan Starring: Stephen Hawking, Nathan Chapple, Arthur Pelling Released: 23 Sep

“Imagine coming to the end of questions,” expresses Mary Hawking – younger sister of cosmologist Stephen – towards the end of this eponymous documentary. She’s referring to her brother’s restless curiosity; an inquisitiveness that helped the Oxford-born physicist overcome severe health problems to become one of science’s most celebrated thinkers. Viewers may share this feeling of unanswered questions come Hawking’s end credits: for all its detail, Hawking the man remains somewhat unknown. Co-written and narrated by Hawking himself, this elusiveness is possibly traceable to its subject’s conflicted relationship with his own celebrity. Having been stung by false press, a reluctance to open up emotionally is understandable. To director Finnigan’s credit, this absence doesn’t damage the film’s overall appeal, with Hawking’s sharp wit foregrounded and his accomplishments vividly catalogued. [Chris Buckle]

Director: René Clément Starring: Alain Delon, Maurice Ronet, Marie Laforêt, Billy Kearns Released: 9 Sep Certificate: PG Alain Delon was a movie star with uncommon good looks and charisma, but only a few directors really knew how to fully exploit his particular gifts. René Clément’s Plein Soleil stands alongside Jean-Pierre Melville’s masterpiece Le Samouraï as the best Delon vehicle. Delon’s magnetic performance is the best reason to watch Clément’s adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel, but it has plenty of other pleasures too. Henri Decaë’s vivid cinematography makes the most of the film’s Italian locations and is particularly impressive on the boat where most of the film’s early action takes place. Clément’s direction is elegant and stylish, drawing plenty of tension from the many sequences in which Ripley has to think on his feet to avoid detection, and he throws in a few surprises too, with the film’s ending being a sly and unexpected alteration of Highsmith’s story. [Philip Concannon]

House of Usher

Director: Roger Corman Starring: Vincent Price Released: Out now Certificate: 12

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With a clang from a leaden door knocker, the first of Roger Corman’s eight Edgar Allan Poe treatments creaks open unpromisingly, wreathed in sickly mists and puffing cobwebs, a gothic horror with a suspected case of terminal anaemia. But as love-snagged caller Phillip Winthrope (Mark Damon) enters the Usher abode, a furnace of hyper-sensation ignites. A mansion interior is rendered oil-painting-vivid in graphic reds and burning blues that claw at the screen, while decadence shrieks from ornate chests and wizened furniture. Resplendent in crimson velvet, Roderick (Vincent Price) slithers forth to deliver his sister, Madeleine (Myrna Fahey), from her insipid suitor with mesmeric prognostications of doom and lute-plucking, while uncanny events waltz in cycles of dread and consequence. It guards thrills like a miser for the first hour, but through mannered performances and feverish atmosphere House of Usher is a deliciously dated plunge into horror-film heritage. [Kirsty Leckie-Palmer]

Twixt

Ikarie XB-1

Time Bandits

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Director: Francis Ford Coppola Starring: Val Kilmer, Bruce Dern, Elle Fanning, Ben Chaplin Released: 30 Sep Certificate: 15 Hall Baltimore (Val Kilmer), a “bargain-basement Stephen King”, is visiting a small, studiedly eerie town to sign copies of his latest book. Five minutes in and the crazy sheriff (Bruce Dern), a fan, has got him examining the body of a murdered girl and collaborating on a novel concerning the mystery behind her death. The girl (Elle Fanning) soon haunts Hall, in scenes that are about as chilling as a kids’ play, all cheap effects, dodgy lighting, and student film surrealism. Soon, even Edgar Allan Poe (Ben Chaplin) joins in the fun. First seen as the face of the moon (?), he later appears in person – and together they solve the mystery... If it weren’t directed by Coppola, Twixt would be a so-badit’s-hilarious gem. But the man’s a giant, and to see him turning out this vacuous, clichéd nonsense is like watching a former Olympic gymnast struggling on the monkey bars in the local park: it isn’t funny – it’s sad. [Kristian Doyle]

September 2013

Director: Jindřich Polák Starring: Zdeněk Štěpánek, Radovan Lukavský Released: 9 Sep Certificate: 12 Blandly retitled as Voyage to the End of the Universe in some Englishspeaking markets, the snappily-monikered Ikarie XB-1 (the title alludes to Icarus, the mythological character who flew too close to the sun) is a rather wonderful sci-fi from 1963. Set a couple of centuries in the future, it follows a spaceship on a mission to a distant star system in the hopeful search for life. Technically brilliant, there’s a devout attention to detail across the board, particularly in the impressive production design (the influence on Stanley Kubrick is plain to see); only a robot called Patrik who looks like an antique toy has dated poorly. But Ikarie XB-1’s real strengths lie in its ideas: the script ponders the impact of relativity, of extraterrestrial life, of long-term space travel’s unhinging claustrophobia. A classic of Eastern Bloc filmmaking, it vividly summons that early thrill of discovery – and dread of the unknown – that the space programme once invoked. [John Nugent]

FILM

Director: Terry Gilliam Starring: Sean Connery, John Cleese, Shelley Duvall Released: Out now Certificate: PG Terry Gilliam’s anarchic children’s fantasy has a lavish new release from Arrow, with a fully restored picture and audio track, and it’s never looked better. The story is pure 80s wish fulfilment; a young boy from a boring housing estate in England finds himself tangled up in the adventures of a gang of dwarfs who’ve stolen a map of 'time holes' and plan to use it to get stinking rich. It’s shamelessly fun with a strong Pythonesque influence It isn’t afraid to have darker moments, with the Ultimate Evil (a deliciously twisted David Warner), his monster-filled fortress, and an unmistakably grim ending. The new transfer showcases the fantastic design work and unmistakeable effort that went into every frame. Watching it again as an adult, it’s hard to imagine anything like Time Bandits being produced today. Grab this while you can! [Scott McKellar]

Review

Photo: Ruth Clark, Courtesy of Jupiter Artland

Josh Blackwell

A Conspiracy of Detail

Mackintosh Museum, until 29 Sep

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The four tapering support beams in GSA’s Mackintosh Museum truncate themselves just shy of the ceiling. They’re just for show. So A Conspiracy of Detail, a group show on the implications of adornment and ornamentation, is a bit of a self-reflective moment for The Mack. In this dignified space, it’s with a cheeky excitement that Hew Locke forms a queen’s head from bungee cord hooks, baby dolls and costume jewellery. It’s a hoarder’s fabulously overgrown Christmas wreath of cheap tat. More bric-a-brac abounds in Pio Abad’s installation. A fantastically deadpan pamphlet contextualises the absurdity of actual, remade and plausible imaginings of the artefacts from the reign of former Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos. With objects like a CCTV camera clad in little seashells, Abad creates an atmosphere of sinister eccentricity. Razor-edge humour continues with Alex Pollard’s doormat. Adorned with a caricature of himself, it’s ‘decorated’ with dirt and chewing

gum. And there’s a definite, if perverse pleasure in an artwork you can really wipe your feet on. On opposite walls, Karin Ruggaber and Jonathan Baldock’s respective works share a ghostly reminder of the sense of lost knowledge of meaning or function. The careful placement of Ruggaber’s variously earthy, pastel and flesh-coloured concrete relief sculptures seems dictated by some forgotten custom. Across the room, Jonathan Baldock’s electric blue curios might be for agricultural use or ancient ceremonial wear. At the point specific use is lost, the ornamental inserts itself. Utility of design becomes decorative form. In the midst of A conspiracy of detail, Josh Blackwell’s embroidered poly bags float on the wall with the detachment of an introvert’s intensely felt stanzas. Uselessly stitched-up, adornment lends a value that exists in itself, beyond obvious function. Without weighing more than polyethylene film and thread, they state simply that to adorn is to make meaning. [Adam Benmakhlouf] www.gsa.ac.uk/life/gsa-events/events/a/a-conspiracy-ofdetail

Jeremy Deller with Alan Kane

the banners are rarefied and function more like souvenirs struggling to convey the pride with rrrrr which the everyman (goths, football mascots, Deller and Kane mine the eccentricities of British Peterloo memorial campaigners) claimed their popular culture and vernacular art to imbue eve- place in the cultural limelight. ryday rituals such as tea breaks or Googling with In their affectionately-collated Folk Archive exotic allure. (c.1999-2005) Deller and Alan Kane eschewed Opening the show with a re-boot of their such a discrepancy with ‘High Art,’ and the colperformance from Deller’s Procession at laged influence of this earlier project lives on Manchester’s International Festival in 2009, Steel in the two collaborations shown at Jupiter. The Harmony soothe festival-frayed nerves with joypair’s infamous ‘souped-up’ Tea Urn and Teapot ful Caribbean steel drum renditions of British draws on this ‘village fête aesthetic’ while the underground anthems. The gritty anxiousness of crowd-pleasing Steam Powered Internet Machine a Joy Division track is gleefully subverted by the takes a wonderfully anachronistic approach to playful segues between histories and subcultures powering a ‘portable’ computer. (The connection which Deller is so accomplished at drawing on. between ‘the industrial and digital revolutions’ is Procession is re-presented here by appliperhaps less relatable in this setting than when quéd banners made in one of Deller’s many coljuxtaposed with a disused power station.) laborations with skilled customisers and makers. With creative collaboration, Deller injects A video-document accompanies to contextualise, vitality into the mundane, but much like the chronicling the glory days of the ‘Unrepentant chipped mugs which accompany the daily tea Smokers’ or ‘Carnival Queens’ who once held ritual, this presentation, made up of charming, them aloft in a celebration of Manchester’s ‘pub- well-loved elements, still feels delightfully mislic space and the people occupying it.’ Revisiting matched. [Kate Andrews] the glorious parade in a sparse gallery setting, Jupiter Artland, until 15 Sep

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Art Pistol: Aimed at Your Walls Introducing Art Pistol – a new website and pop-up gallery showcasing the best of the UK’s up-and-coming artists

pecialising in original, affordable art, the punchy-sounding Art Pistol leaves no excuses for decorating one’s walls with those ubiquitous and impersonal stock images. As the name suggests, it makes buying stunning limited edition works that you’ll actually enjoy as quick and easy as pulling a trigger. Based online but frequently staging pop-up shows, the gallery offers a tempting alternative to traipsing aimlessly around town when you want something new for your home. One can spend many happy hours idly browsing the works online – and discovering artists you might never have heard of. Showcasing the works of heaps of new graduates from the Scottish art schools, as well as others around the UK, Art Pistol means you don’t have to wait for Degree Show time to come around to bag an amazing work that’s only going to appreciate in value. Art Pistol’s founder, Ali Smith, is a Fine Art graduate of Glasgow School of Art, and handpicks works of promising emerging artists. The gallery’s most recent pop-up show, at the Creative Scotland HQ in Edinburgh, featured the work of recent Edinburgh College of Art grad Charlotte Roseberry, as well as the similarly

Words: Jac Mantle exciting work of Eleanor Carlingford, Patrizio Belcampo, Jonathan Cotrell, Jenny Lewis and Richard Martin. Maybe you remember an artist from a previous year’s Degree Show and regretted not buying from them – chances are, an online gallery like Art Pistol is just the place to seek them out and see how their work has progressed. Perhaps you really want to see an artwork in person before making a purchase – then simply ask. If possible, Art Pistol will feature it in one of their future pop-up shows. They’re currently planning one in Glasgow for November which will lead right through until December, and which Smith promises will be their biggest and best yet. That’s Christmas sorted, then. If you’re strapped for time or just can’t wait until then, the website has even organised the works into gift ideas. A nice twist on the usual online gallery model is that rather than the price quoted being the final say, you can make the artist an offer and have a dialogue with them. Or alternatively, you could take advantage of the Own Art scheme and spread the cost over ten months. As well as the online gallery and pop up exhibitions, Art Pistol also stages public art projects – you’ve probably already seen the murals around

Charlotte Roseberry, Lemons and So On

Glasgow, taking over empty walls and construction site hoardings. Earlier this year they consulted with local businesses to transform Gordon Lane, just across from The Lighthouse centre for architecture and design, with a mural of a giant panda, the work of local artist Klingatron. You can also buy his work on Art Pistol. Another project saw the gallery ask residents of the city to submit images of local characters to become part of a mural by RogueOne which runs the length of a hoarding just a few blocks from Glasgow’s Central Station. And there’s more to come. Currently in the pipeline

John Parkin, Batgirl

are four public art projects celebrating the Glasgow Commonwealth Games next year. Two murals, on badminton and netball, are already visible in Partick and Merchant City, with another two on netball and hockey planned any day now – if the rain holds off. Art Pistol’s public art projects may be weather permitting, but there’s nothing to stop you opening fire on your own walls. Art Pistol offers a range of prints and limited edition artworks by represented artists, and is supported by the Own Art scheme www.ownart.org.uk www.artpistol.co.uk

Galleries across Scotland are members of the Own Art scheme. By offering interest-free loans of £100-£2,000 through Own Art, buying an original piece of quality contemporary art or craft couldn’t be easier. For more information about Own Art and a list of participating galleries see the Own Art website: www.ownart.org.uk

Offer subject to age and status. Terms and conditions apply. You will need a UK bank account that can handle direct debits, proof of identity and address, and you will also need to be over 18. Own Art is an Arts Council England initiative operated by Creative Sector Services CIC, a Community Interest Company registered in England and Wales under number 08280539. Registered address: 2-6 Cannon Street, London EC4M 6YH.

Look for the pink logo. (representative 0% APR)

249 West George Street Glasgow G2 4QE

Review

ART

THE SKINNY

Gutter 09

The Guts

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by Various

BOOK OF THE MONTH Play With Me by Michael Pedersen

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By turns elegiac, nostalgic, hilarious and deeply serious, Michael Pedersen’s debut poetry collection, Play With Me, marks the arrival of an important new voice on the Scottish literary landscape. Taking on subjects as diverse as adolescent longing, domestic violence, travel dislocation and unemployment, these succinct verses are focused through the prism of Pedersen’s often unique, but always relatable mid-20s experience. There is a delight in words and phrases, particularly in the melding of Scots and standard English, and a gift for simile – “my favourite stairwells as erudite elders: folded skins and muckle

The Human Part

by Kari Hotakainen

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In its opening paragraph, The Human Part’s octogenarian protagonist Salme dismisses the world of fiction in its entirety. Fiction means lies, lies are bad, the truth should be enough. However, after an unnamed author persuades her to sell him her life story so that he can mould it into a novel of his own, her truth is revealed to be as imperfect and subjective as anyone else’s. As the novel jumps between the viewpoints of herself and her story’s other characters – primarily her children – the line between truth and fiction is blurred; we’re never sure how much of their tale is their own account and how much is the product of the author’s own extrapolations. The result is an intelligent and keen-witted examination of the nature of fiction and the ethics of roman à clef writing, as well as the nature of language itself. It’s Salme herself that gives the novel an emotional pull to match its intellectual heft: speaking with the matter-of-fact simplicity of a woman whose ideas of the world have been solidified beyond scrutiny by eighty years of life experience, she makes an engaging and endearing narrator for an engaging and endearing novel. [Ross McIndoe] Out now, published by MacLehose Press, RRP £8.99

beards” – that betrays these poems’ true home; the mouth of the poet. Pedersen is co-founder of Neu! Reekie!, one of Scotland’s most vibrant spoken-word nights, where he can frequently be found airing these tales of Buckfast bathos. Plenty here could fail spectacularly in the wrong hands: shifts between the comic and the grave and Southeast-Asian travel observations, for example. Instead, at every turn insight and honesty abound, with the best of the collection an exorcism of emotion. On occasion a verse will miss, but when they do hit, they hit hard. These reflections on relationships, Edinburgh, youth and death from one of the country’s most promising poets are essential. [Ryan Rushton]

The latest crop of new Scottish writing is a bumper one, with an abundance of excellent poems and prose. In the last issue the magazine called for entries in Gaelic, so here we have impressive tri-lingual and bi-lingual poems, while Helen MacKinven’s Fae Davaar tae Valhalla, in Scots, is both farcical and touching. Harry Giles makes a sharp and witty Gutter debut with a series of poems about a drone, in one of which the unmanned aircraft gets a cat, and they purr together. There’s work too from established poet Jen Hadfield, who finds a kind of rural bliss in the ‘eruption of spirit’ of a pig being hosed in the heat. The contributions from Elizabeth Reeder and Andrew Crumey are proof of their skills as novelists, and the latter’s latest book also gets a favourable piece in the Gutter reviews. The final story, a good one to end on, is a perfectly handled piece of realist science-fiction by Jane Alexander, Now Here. The narrator has a GPS chip installed in her brain, and is at once transformed from having no sense of direction to having a hypersense of it. What follows is the madness of a TomTom takeover in the mind. [Galen O’Hanlon] Out Now, published by Freight, RRP £6.99 www.guttermag.co.uk

Since we first encountered Jimmy Rabbitte, the godfather of The Commitments has acquired a wife, four kids, a dog called Messi and bowel cancer. Characteristically, Jimmy won’t let something as mediocre as mortality hold him back. Here he comes, resurrecting dead bands; there he goes, learning the trumpet; and there’s still time to turn his first-born into a rock god, have a fling with the irresistible Imelda, and locate his longlost brother. The pace is superfast, but Roddy Doyle can just as easily hit the hard shoulder for exchanges aspiring to Beckett: – You’re never drunk. – I know. – It was lovely. – Grand. And, of course, there’s the F word – almost a character in itself – reappearing with chirpy bonhomie even in the bowels of Jimmy’s illness. Somehow, a bittersweet narrative fights its way out through the craic, culminating in a mad weekend at a music festival. By the end, we’re as much in the dark about Jimmy’s estranged brother as we were at the start, and his fling with Imelda seems to finish not with a bang, but a question mark. No matter. So long as Roddy Doyle keeps pulling Rabbittes from his hat, all will be grand. [James Carson] Out now, published by Jonathan Cape, RRP £12.99

Out now, published by Polygon, RRP £9.99

Office Girl

The Lure of the Honey Bird

by Joe Meno

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by Elizabeth Laird

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In turns an account of the cultural heritage of Ethiopia and of its subsequent dissolution and forefeiture by the increasing modernity of the country, The Lure of the Honey Bird is an inherently flawed and increasingly paradoxical piece that never appears to fully comprehend the moral and human weight of its own subject matter. Using the city of Addis Ababa as a point of purchase, Laird travels back and forth into nearby rural townships in order to obtain an ethnographic record of the oral history of Ethiopia and its people. In doing so she attempts to combine the media of travelogue and short story writing, without ever fully realising either. As a travelogue, the translation of the landscape into a palpable, oppressive atmosphere is not present, with the descriptions of the peoples and the surroundings too fleeting to fully take in, even though Laird states early on “…I was to learn that an atmosphere was a necessary prerequisite to a successful session.” There is no magnanimity in the stories recounted, which tout the values of retribution with an Old Testament vigor over the morality of redemption. These tales are too often recounted whimsically, portraying a justification of an ‘eye for an eye’ morality in a patronising, imperialist light. [Eric Boyd]

Joe Meno’s sixth novel might act as an effective acid test for determining hipster tolerance: one protagonist spends his time recording the sounds made by snow, balloons and sadness; the other dreams of starting a guerilla art movement based around the complete terribleness of everything popular; both spend the majority of the story riding bikes. Their tastes are obscure, their clothes are thrift store-chic: they are the perfect proto-hipsters of 1999. Odile is a failed art student and Manic Pixie Dream Girl through and through, Jack is a twentysix year old divorcee with an ever-mounting collection of step-parents and unfinished art projects; together, they struggle to fend off the ennui of inner city life, raging back against mindless pop culture and the mundanity of the everyday with a series of bizarre artistic stunts involving silver balloons, ghost costumes and a misunderstood former classmate by the name of Alphonso F. Permeated throughout with an irreverent charm, Meno’s novel effectively evokes the frustration of artistic ambition within a culture uninterested in anything outwith the mainstream and, more universally, the aimlessness of being young with no idea of what you want to do, just an abundance of things you don’t. [Ross McIndoe] Out now, published by Telegram, RRP £7.99

Out now, published by Polygon, RRP £12.99

September 2013

By Roddy Doyle

Flesh Wounds

by Chris Brookmyre

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With Flesh Wounds, Brookmyre returns to the more emotionally-nuanced Glasgow crime world of Where The Bodies Are Buried and When the Devil Drives (signalled, ironically enough, by the use of the more familiar 'Chris' rather than the 'Christopher' linked to his darkly humorous earlier novels and recent computer-games SF title, Bedlam). Once again we’re with actor-turnedprivate detective Jasmine Sharp, Glasgow-based Detective Superintendent Catherine McLeod and the wiry Glaswegian gangster in both their lives, Glen Fallan – now accused of shooting a criminal rival. Brookmyre regularly flicks his strongly paced narrative between McLeod, who’s initially pleased to have 'one killer dead and another one dead to rights,' and Sharp, who discovers that her late mother was 'involved' with Fallan’s alleged victim. There’s still little love lost between the two women – McLeod at one point describes Sharp as a 'real pain in my arse sometimes,' but this is a believable relationship between two very different women coming from very different directions. Flesh Wounds is a thrilling pageturner with real heart, a wry smile and an honest understanding of the price paid for violence; it’s the work of an assured writer whose skill and maturity leaves the reader genuinely satisfied. [Paul F Cockburn] Out now, published by Little, Brown, RRP £17.99

BOOKS

Review

The List

Summerhall, Edinburgh

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Stellar Quines theatre company presents The List, a piece about a woman who makes, of course, lists of tasks to avoid feeling out of control of her new life in a small village seemingly in the middle of nowhere. At first, the tale seems understandable, since moving to a rural area inevitably causes the pace of life to become a great deal slower. It sounds like it could happen to anybody. Then the pattern changes, as the main character – played very convincingly by Maureen Beattie – reluctantly makes a new friend, Caroline. Caroline is the complete opposite of her, yet they still get along reasonably well. While there are multiple characters mentioned in this performance, The List is narrated in the first person, from the main character’s perspective, and Beattie brings them all to life through her captivating storytelling ability. The structure of the story begins to build up momentum through the obsessive pace yet becomes deflated at certain parts, which appears to rob the story of the impact and intensity it could have. Aside from being about lists and obsessive behaviour, this one woman show is also about isolation, and how lonely modern human existence can be. It’s also about those little tasks you add to a to-do list, knowing you will get round to them, thinking they are not particularly important, yet postponing them to the point of no return. It will make you re-evaluate your own list of things and filter out what is truly important. [Eric Karoulla] Tron, Glasgow, 7 Sep, 7.45pm, £16 (£12) and touring www.stellarquines.com The List

Red Bastard

Assembly (Bosco Theatre) Edinburgh, run ended

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Red Bastard

Dostoyevsky

Citizens, 5–28 Sep Glasgow This September sees Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment explode into the Citizens Theatre. Written for the stage by Chris Hannan, and directed by Dominic Hill, this tragic exploration of murder, guilt, desperation, and morality is due to go on tour after its Glasgow premiere. It is strangely fitting that the Citz is putting on a work so ambitious and so dark. In the climate of this economic downturn, distrust, social anxiety, and desperation are reaching their all time high, which sets a terrifyingly accurate context for the pressures that Raskolnikov feels at the beginning of the novel. 23, living in a small flat, hungry, poor, he murders a moneylender and pawnbroker for money. A nail-biting thriller, this tale is

Preview

complemented by another Dostoyevsky creation, Notes from the Underground, directed by Debbie Hannan. Reminiscent of Moliere’s Misanthrope and resounding in the voice of Gregory from Kafka’s Metamorphosis, the main character is a bitter man who lives underground (hence often known as the Underground Man). Essentially a hateful monologue that is a mixture of memories, thoughts on life and philosophy, it is performed in the intimate setting of a studio, where there is no escape, and the audience has no stage as a barrier to hide behind. [Eric Karoulla] Crime and Punishment 5–28 Sep, Times Vary, £10 (6) Notes from the Underground 11–14 Sep, times vary, £10 (£6)

Putting this review in print seems to contravene the very spirit of Red Bastard’s performance, since it became obvious very quickly it was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Even so, it is such a milestone in this reviewer’s understanding of theatre and its power, that it has to be remembered in print and on the internet. When a performer claims they will change your life on their poster, it’s difficult to believe it won’t be a self-confidence seminar that patronises the audience, involving holding hands, singing songs, and chanting “Yes, I can!” until your voice is hoarse, convincing you to buy the complimentary self-help book. Red Bastard’s approach is completely different. No patronising, no pandering here. You want to do something? You go get it. Not following your dreams and ambitions can turn you into an empty frame, reflecting what others want to see in you rather than revealing your true self through doing something that makes you feel alive,

Dunsinane on Tour The National Theatre of Scotland and the Royal Shakespeare Company are bringing back David Greig’s incredibly compelling, thought provoking, Scottish play – sequel to the other ‘Scottish play,’ the one by the Bard himself – and touring it up and down the country, including Edinburgh and Glasgow. Dunsinane picks up where Shakespeare left off. It shows the effects of the English army on the Scottish landscape and the Scottish succession to the throne, the difficulty for the clans to accept this change and for the English to accept the Scottish ways of life. At the heart of all this, the powerful and manipulative Lady Macbeth plays her game against the English, protecting herself and her son. Scottish actress Siobhan Redmond brings this Lady Macbeth to

THEATRE

present, here and now. This reflects Thoreau’s idea about suppression and repression: 'The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.' This is probably what people mean when they say “it was a religious experience.” Red Bastard will change your life, if you engage with him honestly. It’s almost like the final catharsis seen in Greek tragedies, where the experience is horrific yet is resolved at the end of it all. Aside from being an unforgettable experience, Red Bastard is a pleasure to watch. He’s funny yet aggressive – intending to rouse the audience out of our usually passive state. His physicality possesses an extremely graceful, light-footed quality despite the size of the fullbody red suit. Admittedly, the suit makes him hard to miss, but it seems as though attempting to ignore him would be a waste of time and probably money – as an audience member, paying to go to a performance and not engaging with it would be a poor investment. Something interesting has to happen every ten seconds... or else you open the door to futility. [Eric Karoulla] life, opposite Johnny Phillips as the English commander Siward who tries to bring everything together. It’s a telling time for Dunsinane to reappear on the Scottish stage; with the independence bill waiting in the distance the politics between the English and the Scottish are once more back in the spotlight. Art may mirror life, or life, art. Nothing, this play teaches you, is solid. Nothing is certain and everything spirals out of control. Dunsinane is one of the great Scottish plays of recent years for award winning David Greig and always deserves a place on the Scottish stage. Having built up some momentum with the Fringe success of new works, this is the perfect time for Dunsinane to come back to its rightful place. [Eric Karoulla] Theatre Royal, Glasgow, 10-14 Sep, 7.30pm, Thu & Sat 2.30pm, from £10

THE SKINNY

‘Punch’ and Judy show E Ellis and Rose look back on causing controversy at the Fringe Interview: Vonny Moyes

dinburgh in August. The streets are awash with gaudy Oxbridge try-hards, unenthusiastic flyerers and enough bits of paper to make a tree weep. With famous faces wrapped around every lamp post, and a monumental influx of show-seekers, how are two unknown comics from London supposed to get noticed? Work tirelessly crafting a show so stunning they can’t fail? Flyer for 12 hours every day? Erm, no. Apparently, all you have to do is make some half-arsed puppets and assault your best mate. Ellis and Rose have only been together for a year and a half; amoebic in comedy terms, yet they’re one of 2013’s most talked about acts – second only to Adrienne Truscott and her magical, talking foof. This year they hit the Fringe with not one, but two shows, and a rather unconventional plan. “So, we’re doing Jimmy Savile: The Punch and Judy Show – basically, it’s a piece of shit.” A controversial 20-minute piece engineered to drive the public to their actual show, Big in Denmark. The Savile show is unscripted, chaotic and so undeniably crap that despite begging reviewers not to name them, Chortle’s Steve Bennett took it upon himself to out them in a merciless one-star review — which the duo maintain was rather liberal with the facts – after they engaged him in the show. Only, that sort of backfired when shortly after being named, Gareth Ellis took a fist to the face from an outraged Scot. Or so we were led to believe. “After the review, we thought ‘let’s turn this around – how shall we do that?’” This gave the pair an idea; to prey on the media’s thirst for controversy, while teaching the omnipotent Mr. Bennett a thing or two about playing nice. What was this moment of genius? For Rich Rose to punch Ellis in the face, repeatedly, while telling the media they were attacked, thanks to the review. There was also a pretty grisly moment of ill-advised self-harm with a milk frother, but Rose

had to finish the job. “We didn’t do it solely for publicity; it was a joke – on the media furore surrounding a show that they haven’t even seen.” It worked. The story was reported on Jon Fleming’s comedy blog, before being carried by The Scotsman and several others, prompting a flurry of tweets, driving numbers to their show. A week later they fessed up to the hoax and released the grim video of Ellis taking a beating, and won themselves a one-off Malcolm Hardee award in the process: the ‘Pound of Flesh’ award for ”relentless pursuit of the kind of publicity money cannot – and perhaps should not – buy.” Clearly rattled by his involvement in the whole thing, a conveniently unattributed post appeared on Chortle, further piling into the duo, twisting their award win into a pity prize: “Sadly, the duo did not even get nominated for the Malcolm Hardee Cunning Stunt award for the biggest PR gimmick of the festival. Instead the organisers have given them a special ‘pound of flesh’ award, in lieu of the usual ‘act most likely to make a million quid’ award, for which no one was considered worthy.” After the spiteful post, all comments in support of the duo mysteriously vanished. “Who deletes comments off a review? That’s freedom of speech. People should know that he did this. Another well-respected reviewer was absolutely horrified when she found out.” For the most part, it’s worked out pretty well for the pair; they drove numbers up, got their name in the national press, and an award – all for the price of a shiner. The comedy world have taken it in good spirits; as a joke, as intended, and as Fringes go, that’s pretty good going. “We do feel a bit bad, for the most part we just think it was really funny.” Where do you go from here? Let’s hope that’s the end of the GBH, or we might have a solo show on our hands next year.

The Skinny Needs You Do you want to help shape our digital future? Do you want to be part of The Skinny team? We are looking for: 1 x Digital Publisher 1 x Digital Marketer Go to www.theskinny.co.uk/about/get_involved to find out more @theskinnymag

I N D EP EN D EN T

September 2013

COMEDY

C U LT U R A L

/TheSkinnyMag

J O U R N A L I S M

Illustration: Sophie Freeman

Preview

Young Fathers

Win passes to THAT Festival rom 9-12 Oct Macrobert in Stirling host their annual THAT Festival – an eclectic long weekend of cutting edge performance, gravitydefying dance moves, banging beats and the craziest cafe this side of wonderland. Highlights include Neu! Reekie! (Thu 10 Oct) featuring TEENCANTEEN, animation from BAFTA winner Will Anderson and a headline set from Young Fathers; a double bill of work from the comically provocative Daniel Bye (Fri 11 Oct) and a bumper Saturday of experiences, including Glasgow’s Buzzcut Festival hosting their A La Buzzcarte cafe with a difference, Junction 25 – fresh from a sell-out Edinburgh Fringe run – with new show Figment and a massive end-of-festival party courtesy of the anything goes music policy of NoFi Disco. www.macrobert.org/thatfest To celebrate, The Skinny has six Saturday day passes (worth £24 each) to give away, plus

one lucky winner will also take home a grand prize of a Macrobert Filmhouse Golden Ticket, giving them access to as many movies as they can cram in for a whole 12 months (worth over £400).

ive_Transmission: Joy Division Reworked is an electro-orchestral and visual reinterpretation of Joy Division. A first of its kind, the show is a unique audio-visual collaboration between electronic music pioneer Scanner, Heritage Orchestra, and visual artist Matt Watkins. The production tours the UK this Autumn and visits Edinburgh's Usher Hall on 1 Oct. The show pivots around the virtuosic ferocity of drummer Adam Betts, guitarist Matt Calvert and bassist John Calvert (Ghostpoet). This unhinged nucleus is kept in check by conductor Jules Buckley who battles with equal force using the incomparable strings, brass, voices, and percussion of the Heritage Orchestra and the unique sounds of Scanner. The musicians play sandwiched between two huge screens hosting the projected artwork of Matt Watkins, whose vast visuals complement the orchestra by switching

To enter, just head to www.theskinny. co.uk/about/competitions and answer the following question. Which act is headlining Neu! Reekie! at THAT Festival? a) Young Fathers b) Old Dads c) Tiny Mums Competition closes midnight Sun 29 Sep. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 48 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Full terms and conditions can be found at www.theskinny.co.uk/about/terms

Voice

between clarity and chaos. For your chance to win a pair of tickets to the Edinburgh show on 1 Oct, head along to www. theskinny.co.uk/about/competitions and answer this simple question: In what year was Joy Divison's Closer released? a) 1983 b) 1978 c) 1980 Competition closes midnight Sun 22 Sep. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 48 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Full terms and conditions can be found at www.theskinny.co.uk/ about/terms. www.joydivisionreworked.com

Photo: HC Gilje

Win tickets to Live_ Transmission

Win tickets to Sonica and a 3 night stay at Marks Hotel Glasgow Win Scotland Loves S Anime Festival Passes Patema

onica returns to Glasgow for the second time to ravish the senses with sonic art for the visually minded. Singing mosquitoes from France, an involuntary string quartet from Australia, whispering trumpets from the Netherlands and a multi-media opera set in the UN-policed buffer zone in Cyprus are all set to delight at various venues across Glasgow city from Thursday 31 October to Sunday 3 November 2013. To ensure you don’t miss a moment of it, we are offering FOUR talented and sound art loving Skinny readers: Tickets to Voice (Thu 31 Oct), The Buffer Zone (Fri 1 Nov), Compositions for Involuntary Strings (Sat 2 Nov), Suspense (Fri 1 Nov) – Sonica’s secret performance at an undisclosed location. 3 nights stay at Marks Hotel Glasgow. A dinner reservation at Bloc+

To be in the chance of winning, head to www. theskinny.co.uk/about/competitions and send in the reason (in no more than 50 words) why you should win and how you will document your Sonica experience on your social media profiles. Competition closes midnight Sun 15 Sep. Winners will be notified via email within five working days of closing and will be required to respond within 48 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Full terms and conditions can be found at www.theskinny.co.uk/about/terms. www.sonic-a.co.uk

cotland Loves Anime is back again for its fourth year, from 11-13 Oct in the GFT and the 18-20 Oct in Edinburgh. They've gone above and beyond this year – not only are they offering a pair of passes to the festival for the weekend of your choice; they've also only gone over to Japan and picked up some neat prizes related to some of the films this year! To stand a chance to win just head to www. theskinny.co.uk/about/competitions and answer the following question:

COMPETITIONS

In what year did Scotland Loves Anime start? A) 2009 B) 2010 C) 2011 Competition closes midnight Sun 6 Sep. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 24 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Full terms and conditions can be found at www.theskinny.co.uk/about/terms.

THE SKINNY

Glasgow Music Tue 03 Sep

Cast The Net (Jamie and the Buzz + Broken Boy + Quiet As A Mouse)

Bloc+, 21:00–23:30, Free

Regular showcase night taking in a handpicked selection of exciting new Scottish artists and bands. Jetplane Landing

Stereo, 19:00–22:00, £8

Alternative rock lot hailing from Derry and London, drawing inspiration from the likes of At The DriveIn, Soundgarden and Shellac. Eels

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £23.50

Virginia’s own tragic hero, aka Mark ‘E’ Everett, and co sing the lo-fi blues, having survived their 54-show tour earlier in the year. Part of No Mean City Festival.

Daughn Gibson (Jonathan Snee)

Broadcast, 20:00–23:00, £9

The Pearls & Brass drummer embarks on a solo project, doing a mashed up electronic-meetsChristian-folk-thrift-store-finds thing, layered up with booming vocals and served with a side of piercing eyes. Part of No Mean City Festival. Psycho Sunday (Knee-Jerk Reaction + MUKA + Milk)

13th Note, 19:30–23:00, £4 adv. (£6 door)

Hard-assed rock’n’roll players somewhere between a head-on collision of Hanoi Rocks and The New York Dolls.

Wed 04 Sep

The Jackhammers (Deathcats + Los Tentakills)

Bloc+, 21:00–23:30, Free

Glasgow-based punk racketmakers led by vocalist and bassist Jim Shit (FYI, their guitarist goes by the name Horace Cockpuppet – you hopefully get the general idea). Babyshambles

Barrowland, 19:00–23:00, £23

The renowned indie-rock lot return – famously fronted by the ever-punctual and present Pete Doherty – embarking on a UK tour for the first time since 2010. Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 19:00–22:00, From £25

Pakistani singer, primarily of Qawwali, a devotional music of the Muslim Sufis – enriched with mesmerising vocals and distinct spiritual elements. The Milk Carton Kids

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £10

Indie-styled folk rock duo hailing from California, made up of allsinging, all-strumming Kanneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan. The Barr Brothers (Siobhan Wilson)

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £10 adv.

Experimental folk ensemble formed by brothers Brad and Andrew Barr, who taught themselves how to play – at first on cardboard boxes and home-strung imitation guitars, then on actual, zebrastriped electric guitars and drums. Part of No Mean City Festival.

Thu 05 Sep King King

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £16

British bluesbreakers currently award-holders of Best Band and Best Album thanks to the British Blues Awards. Part of No Mean City Festival. The Be Good Tanyas

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £16

The all-female Canadian trio blend their usual beguiling mix of finger-plucked folk, country and bluegrass, set off by layered lullaby vocals. Part of No Mean City Festival. Sam Baker

St Andrew’s in the Square, 19:30–23:00, £13

Texas born-and-raised singer/ songwriter whose sound is built on sparse instrumentation and his trademark poetic delivery.

Shield Patterns (Now Wakes The Sea + Leafwrist) The Art School Union, 20:00–23:00, £5

Newly-formed project of Manchester-based artist Claire Brentnall, whose songs are born in cathartic bursts, with subtle poetry intertwined with piano phrases, strings and hypnotic synth patterns. Phillip Taylor (The Sean Armstrong Experience)

Mono, 20:00–23:00, £5 adv.

Phillip Taylor (of PAWS) plays a rare solo show – before heading to New York to record the sophomore PAWS LP – with support from The Yawn’s singer Sean Armstrong in a new live guise.

Fri 06 Sep

Randolph’s Leap (Kid Canaveral + St. Kilda Mailboat) The Glad Cafe, 19:30–22:00, £8 adv. (£10 door)

The Glasgow melody merchants continue to twist the folk-pop genre into odd knots, creating witty ear-worms of joy as they go – launching their new mini album on the night, with special guests Kid Canaveral and St. Kilda Mailboat. Deacon Blue

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £25

The Scottish popsters celebrate their 25th anniversary, touring their ironically titled new LP – The Hipsters.

The Foz + Yew + Busking For Rose

The Roxy 171, 19:30–23:00, £5

Eclectic night of acoustic songsmithery. Mhazz (All She Knows)

Broadcast, 20:00–23:00, £6

The Glasgow songstress steps out with full band beefing up her live sound. Beached (Le Thug + The DDN + Kevin P. Gilday + Antibarrier)

The Old Hairdressers, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Chilled evening of live music and art, headed up by industrial dreamgazers Le Thug. Music Language 2013 (Daniel Padden + ANAKANAK + Death Shanties)

Garnethill Multi-Cultural Centre, 18:30–20:30, £14 weekend

DIY promoters Cry Parrot host the third annual Music Language festival, with Friday evening’s opening outing including a set from Conquering Animal Sound’s Anneke Kampman’s new side project – ANAKANAK. Music Language 2013 (In Posterface + Vars of Litchi + Flaccid Haus + Lovers’ Rights)

The Glue Factory, 22:30–03:00, £14 weekend

Music Language festival continues into the evening, with the first day drawing to a close with sets from Glasgow-based rock lot In Posterface, and Fox Gut Daata and Mother Ganga’s collaborative new guise, Flaccid Haus, amongst others.

Sat 07 Sep

Dead Sea Souls (John Wean + Ewan Butler)

Broadcast, 20:00–23:00, £5

Singalong West Lothian quartet touting their funky ska wares across the Central Belt since 2006. The Staves

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £12

Headline set from Communion Records all-female folk harmony trio.

This Feeling (SOS + The Moon Kids + Jonny Jack + The Trend) Maggie May’s, 19:30–22:00, £6

The favourited London rock’n’roll night takes a trip to Scotland, with a selection of live bands taking to the stage.

Vigo Thieves (Model Aeroplanes)

The Arches, 19:00–22:00, £7.50

Wishaw alternative indie quartet, rich with synthesizers and emotionally-charged vocals, riding high on their 2013 success – and the fact John Leslie’s in one of their videos, o’course. Little Eye (Mark Angels)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £7.50

Recently-formed Glaswegian power-pop quartet led by singer and founder Allan Sieczkowski.

September 2013

Fabolous O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £20

John Jackson, aka Fabolous, takes to the UK with his latest single, READY, featuring he of questionable moral standing, Chris Brown. Eliza and the Bear (Paper Crowns)

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £5

Five piece euphoric indie pop/rock lot hailing from London and featuring neither Eliza, nor a bear.

Chem19 Showcase (Arrowflight + Heather Young + Jemma Tweedie + Little Illusions + Lists) The Glad Cafe, 19:00–22:00, £2

Chem19 present 10 young acts over two nights, selected to take part in their 2013 Demo Fund – with each band given the opportunity to record their first demo at the Chem19 studios, and play a live showcase. The Violet Moses

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:00–23:00, Free

The local alternative rockers launch their debut single, The Bitter End, with a wee perty at Nice ‘n’ Sleazy’s. Music Language 2013 (Howie Reeve + The Crying Lion + The Hector Collectors) The 78, 14:00–16:00, £14 weekend

The third annual Music Language festival continues into Saturday, with the afternoon session featuring a set from Tattie Toes bassist and bell-ringer Howie Reeve, amongst others.

Music Language 2013 (p6 and Skitter + Seconds + Dalhous + Jer Reid and Stevie Jones + Ela Orleans + Dick 50 + Konx-omPax + Asparagus Piss Raindrop + Star Voyage + Louie + The Cosmic Dead + The Orpheus Choir + Mark Maxwell + Stefan Blomeier and Claire)

SWG3, 18:00–03:00, £14 weekend

Music Language festival launches into its main weekend sesh, with Saturday’s biggie outing finding the likes of Ela Orleans, The Cosmic Dead, Stefan Blomeier and Konx-om-Pax playing across two stages at SWG3, right into the wee hours of 3am.

Sun 08 Sep

September Synthesis Festival (Okishima Island Tourist Association + Noma + Fiona Soe Paing + (a is to b) + Deathwank + Gunfinger + Word or Object = Alistair Quietsch + Luminous Monsters + Texture) 13th Note, 15:00–23:00, £5

Myriad musicians pitch up for a one-off adventure, where the likes of Fiona Soe Paing, (a is to b), Deathwank and Texture travel the gamut through hip-hop, ambient, dark electro and progressive, right through to grindcore, powerviolence and harsh noise. Chem19 Showcase (Calum O’Connor + Magic Eye + Marie Collins + Megan Blyth + Orthodox)

The Glad Cafe, 19:00–22:00, £2

Music Language 2013 (Red Death + Andrew Paine + Sue Tompkins + Bill Wells’ National Jazz Trio of Scotland) Kinning Park Complex, 14:30–17:30, £14 weekend

As the third annual Music Language festival rumbles into Sunday, Kinning Park Complex play host to a headline set from Aidan Moffat’s partner in crime, Bill Wells, accompanied by his live jazz trio.

Music Language 2013 (eagleowl + Hausfrau + Wounded Knee + Big Tajj + The Glad Community Choir + Golden Teacher) Grand Ole Opry, 19:00–23:00, £14 weekend

Music Language festival draws to a close with sets from self-described ‘lethargic pop’ lot eagleowl and Silk Cut and Ultimate Thrush collab, Golden Teacher, while Nice ‘n’ Sleazy take care of the official after-bash (11pm-3am).

Mon 09 Sep Jimmy Eat World

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, £18.50

Arizona-hailing rock quartet led by the inimitable Jim Adkins; still going strong after 20 years. Krystle Warren (Sinny)

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £10

Singer/songwriter from Missouri, navigating the smoky depths and elated highs with her hypnotic voice. Caitlin Rose

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12

The Nashville singer/songwriter does her velvety-soft and effortlessly emotive thing, showcasing tracks from her new LP, The Stand-In, which finds her effortlessly tiptoeing the line between showiness and subtlety. Part of No Mean City Festival. Vague ( ) Space (Ex-Wives + Where We Lay Our Heads)

Stereo, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

Indie-meets-punk collective hailing (mostly) from Bothwell in the Glasgow suburbs.

Tue 10 Sep

Cast The Net (Castrovalva + Exit International)

Bloc+, 21:00–23:30, Free

Regular showcase night taking in a handpicked selection of exciting new Scottish artists and bands. Fuck Buttons

SWG3, 19:30–22:00, £12.50

The Bristol electro-noise duo take their third and darkest album, Slow Focus, out on a much-anticipated jaunt across the UK before hitting up Europe. Young Knives

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

Mercury-nominate twee-clad chaps hailing from that lesser known Mecca of punk rock delinquency, er, Oxford. Ed Kowalczyk

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £15

The lead singer and songwriter of Live strides out alone on a solo acoustic tour.

Wed 11 Sep Jet Black Heart

Bloc+, 21:00–23:30, Free

Pumping monthly gig-meets-club night from the analogue junkies at Dixon Street Studios. Spoken Mirror

City Halls, 20:00–22:00, £6 (£3)

Heartless Bastards

Natalie Pryce (Homesick Also)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

The Glad Cafe, 19:30–22:00, £tbc

Gutsy garage rockers hailing from the dizzying heights of Dayton, Ohio. Now residing in Austin, Texas, the quartet are led by the coarse yet captivating vocals of Erika Wennerstrom; file them somewhere between Breeders and Pixies. OK? Part of No Mean City The Fallen Angels Club (Diana Jones) The Glad Cafe, 19:30–22:00, £12

Emotive songstress Diana Jones heads up the latest edition of The Fallen Angels Club, playing tracks from her latest LP, Museum of Appalachia Recordings.

Biosphere (Egbert Mittelstädt)

Old Fruitmarket, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£5)

Recording project of Norwegian musician Geir Jenssen – known for his ambient techno and arctic ambient styles played out via music loops and peculiar samples from sci-fi sources – performing with German visual artist Egbert Mittelstädt. Pen and Pick: Songwriters’ Night (Lesley Young + Robin Adams + Elissa Conway)

13th Note, 20:00–23:00, £5

One-off songwriters showcase, featuring a line-up of singer/ songwriters in the Note’s murky basement. Roadway

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 20:00–23:00, £5

The Scottish hard rockers take to the road in support of their new EP, Set in Stone.

Fri 13 Sep

St Deluxe (Poor Things + Lenzie Moss)

13th Note, 20:00–23:00, £5

Weegie foursome currently reviving the spirit of US slacker alternative pop, then immediately drowning the bugger in syrupy scum-gaze textures. Dr Feelgood (The Zips)

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £15

The longstanding, no-holds-barred Essex rock’n’rollers continue to do what they do best – tour. Macklemore + Ryan Lewis

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, £sold out

Ben Haggerty, aka Macklemore – he of YouTube/Thrift Shop fame – embarks on a world tour with hip-hop partner in crime, Ryan Lewis. Chance The Rapper

Experimental duo made up of Malcolm MacFarlane (guitars) and Allon Beauvoisin (baritone saxophone) – using electronics and technology to create soundscapes that subtlety groove and transfix the listener.

The Chicago hip-hop artist plays a special late night set of his original tunes, featuring the likes of Twista, Childish Gambino and Chicago Kid.

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £11

The Glad Cafe, 20:00–22:00, £7

Neon Neon

The Arches, 23:00–03:00, £12

Robert Curgenven (Cheer)

Following our chat in April, Neon Neon (aka Super Furry Animals’ Gruff Rhys and hip-hop producer Boom Bip) tour their sophomore LP, Praxis Makes Perfect, a synthesised gem dealing with the life of Italian communist sympathiser Giangiacomo Feltrinelli.

The Australian composer and sound artist plays a trademark creative live set, spanning immersive resonances via turntables and custom-made vinyl, instrumental harmonics and guitar feedback, right through to detailed field recordings.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–22:00, £7.50

The Glasgow-based hip-hop ensemble rip through a selection of new material.

Alice and the Rampant Trio (The Deep Red Sky + James MacKenzie + Sixth Avenue Traffic)

Acoustic folk-rock quartet formed in the sunny town of St Andrews, fronted by the duo-led powerful female vocals of Alice Challiner and Nicola Fraser.

Deadsoundz (Madhat McGore + RazorKings + Tongue Acrobats) Audio, 19:00–22:00, £5 adv. (£8 door)

Erin Rae (Little Fire + Marie Collins)

Broadcast, 20:00–23:00, £5

Cathouse, 18:30–22:00, £9

Folk-styled songstress from the wilds of Jackson. Part of No Mean City Festival.

Thu 12 Sep

Greenock singer/songwriter working her magic with 70s-styled acoustic rock.

The Amity Afflication (Landscapes + In Hearts Wake)

Metalcore quartet hailing from Brisbane, Australia, bringing cheeky charm by the bucket load. Vagabond Poets

Stereo, 19:00–22:00, £6

Mod-styled band of scallywags hailing from the fiery musical furnace of Cumbernauld. Stu Larsen + Natsuki Kurai

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £6

Since leaving his quiet little town in Queensland, Stu Larsen has spent the years mostly touring and recording – a folk troubadour if ever there were – joined on the night by Japanese harmonica master Natsuki Kurai.

Lynnie Carson

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £3

Whatever Gets Your Through The Night: The Film (Emma Pollock + Withered Hand)

Paisley Arts Centre, 19:30–22:00, £8 (£5)

Film accompaniment to the collective words/music project featuring stories told in song, shot during the night in various locations. Includes an introduction by director Daniel Warren, and live sets from Emma Pollock and Withered Hand.

Sat 14 Sep

The Black Angels (Elephant Stone) Classic Grand, 19:00–22:30, £14

The experimental psych-styled Texan ensemble take to the road armed with their new LP, Indigo Meadow.

Mark Swan-led band of weirdos, with Swan likely rambling away into a vintage mic, helped along by murky projections and a bassheavy rhythm section.

Future Glue (Plastic Animals + Deathcats)

Broadcast, 20:00–23:00

Good old fashioned rock’n’roll offerings – delivering a thundering wall of motor city noise as per, launching their new single on the night. Motionless In White (Glamour Of The Kill + The Defiled)

The Garage, 19:00–22:00, £12 adv.

Metalcore/goth lot from Pennsylvania, touring to celebrate the release of their album, Infamous. City of Lights (Parker + Artie Ziff + Failed At Sea)

Flat 0/1, 19:30–23:00, £6

Crafty Yorkshire tunesmiths influenced by Biffy Clyro, Coldplay and the like.

Gerry Cinnamon (Mark McGowan + Philip Taylor + Bad Luck) Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:00–23:00, £7

Charity fundraiser headed up by Weegie loop pedal muso, Gerry Cinnamon, with support from Philip Taylor (of PAWS) and others. Profits go to research into fighting Muitiple Sclerosis.

The Cold War Legacy: 1st Birthday (Broken Lungs + Citagazi + Owls In Antarctica + First Step To Failure + Atlas:Empire + The Recovery) Audio, 17:00–22:00, £5

Diminutive Glasgow label Cold War Legacy Records bring a selection of their talent to Audio in celebration of their 1st birthday. First 20 folk down get free cake, if you’re inclined to get speedy for sponge’n’icing. Harry Radford (Hilly Valley High + Parallel Redemption) Stereo, 19:00–22:00, £8

The Yashin frontman plays his debut headline Scottish show, out in support of his debut solo EP.

Sun 15 Sep Swim Deep

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £11

Bright indie hopefuls making sun-kissed dross-pop in their hometown of Birmingham. Junip

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

A rare outing for Jose Gonzalez’s band, featuring drummer, Elias Araya and keyboardist, Tobias Winterkorn. Part of No Mean City Festival. Tori Kelly

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £11

California-residing songstress, racking up the hits on YouTube; 30,000,000 and counting. Giant Drag

Broadcast, 20:00–23:00, £8

The last chance to catch the lo-fi alt rockers on tour as they return to the UK for the first time in 7 years... to say goodbye.

Mon 16 Sep

The Front Bottoms (Allison Weiss)

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £8

American acoustic-cum-indiecum-dance-cum-punk outfit hailing from New Jersey – hookheavy with a knack for anthemic choruses, natch. Jim White (Paul Fonfara)

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £13.50

Best known for capturing the haunting mysticism of the Deep South with an occasional nod to Tom Waits, Jim White takes his twangy guitar sounds out for a whirl with his 2012 album, Where It Hits You, in tow. Part of No Mean City Festival. Being As An Ocean (The Elijah + Capsize + Rainfalls)

Classic Grand, 18:30–22:00, £8

California-hailing post hardcore bunch touring with their debut album, Dear G-d.

Zombie Zombie (Capitals + Ubre Blanca)

Mono, 19:30–23:00, £8.50

French duo turned trio making electro-horror pop inspired in equal measure by John Carpenter’s film scores and electronic music artists like Suicide and Silver Apples.

Tue 17 Sep

Cast The Net (Honningbarna + Lazarus + Miss Lucid) Bloc+, 21:00–23:30, Free

Regular showcase night taking in a handpicked selection of exciting new Scottish artists and bands. Wire

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £14.50

Experimental post-rock mainstays touring on the back of their latest album, Red Barked Tree. The 1975

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £11

Manchester-based collective who specialise in r’n’b-infused guitar pop, currently touring their new EP. The Cool Cat Club (Deathcats + The Creeping Ivies + The Rosy Crucifixion + Hookers For Jesus + Wozniak)

13th Note, 20:00–23:00, £5

The Dundee showcase night makes a trip Glasgow-way, headed up by Glasgow fiery hardcore pop lot, Deathcats. Joe Pug

Broadcast, 20:00–23:00, £7

Chicago-based singer/songwriter who abandoned playwriting in favour of becoming a musician. Part of No Mean City Festival. Black Sun Drum Korps

13th Note, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

The Glaswegian industrial trio take to their second home of the Note’s basement.

Wed 18 Sep Wheatus

King Tut’s, 20:00–23:00, £13

New York indie-popsters led by Brendan B. Brown and his heartfelt nasally drawl, forever defined by hit single Teenage Dirtbag. French Wives (Friends in America + TeenCanteen)

Stereo, 19:00–22:00, £6

The Glasgow indie troupe do their twinkling folk-meets-spunky pop thing, all singalongable and lovely like. Matthew Collings (Seth Rozanoff)

City Halls, 20:00–22:00, £6 (£3)

Icelandic-based musician who traverses the line between quiet and loud, ranging from tiny delicate moments of intimacy to all consuming noise. The Temperance Movement

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £9.50

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

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £13

The singer/songwriter and electronic producer presents his unique brand of dubbed-out soul, hybrid electro, effects-manipulated vocals and adventures in rabbit jumpers (caveat: he wore a rabbit jumper, like, once – and we’ve basically never recovered). The Seekers

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 19:30–22:00, From £40

Australia’s first international supergroup hit the road, four-part harmonies, acoustic guitars and double bass all well and in place. The Travels (Alan Smithee + We Came From The Sea + Andy Isaacson)

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £5

The Glasgow alternative rock trio return after a short break to create some more earth prog-based madness, in support of their new EP, Elder. Fresh Milk (Bigg Taj + Spee69 + The LaFontaines DJs)

Flat 0/1, 21:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Fresher-themed edition of beloved gig-in-a-club night, Milk, this time teaming up with Glasgow’s famous Badmouth Battles for a live freestyle battle – with a prize of £100 and warm-up sessions from Bigg Taj and Spee69. Crowns

Bloc+, 21:00–23:30, Free

The high octane punk rockers do their usual rammy of a live thing.

Thu 19 Sep Y&T

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £15

Rock’n’roll long-timers, continuing to melt faces some 30 years on. Boyce Avenue

Newlife (JAWS) Bloc+, 21:00–03:00, Free

The Newlife crew present their monthly hanpicked selection of the best new left-field Scottish talent, followed by the Cosmic Dead DJs doing their usual audio sauna mind warp from midnight-3am. Ben Kenney (EDA)

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £15

The Incubus bass player steps out on his own as a solo multi-instrumentalist, touring on the run up to the release of his new EP, Leave On Your Make Up. Three Cane Whale (The Crying Lion)

The Glad Cafe, 19:30–22:00, £7

Bristol-based multi-instrumental acoustic trio moving in cinematic sweeps and intimate gestures, featuring members of Spiro, Get The Blessing and Fleur Darkin Ensemble.

Mountain of Love (Mickey 9s + Colonel Mustard and The Dijon 5) Pivo Pivo, 19:00–22:00, £6

Groove-based dance music from two ex-members of Alabama 3, the band responsible for giving us The Sopranos theme tune, amongst others. Laetitia Sadier

Broadcast, 20:00–23:00, £7

One half of seminal post-rockers Stereolab, Laetitia Sadier shines as a solo talent in her own right, with a set taking in tracks from her mesmerising solo debut, The Trip. Part of No Mean City Festival. YoungHusband (The Cherry Wave + Life Model)

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 19:30–23:00, £6

London-based alternative trio that started life as vocalist Euan Hinshelwood’s bedroom recording project – now joined by Adam Beach (guitar), Joe Chilton (Bass) and Pete Baker (drums).

Chunk, No Captain Chunk! (Climates + LYU) The Garage, 19:00–22:00, £7

The French metalcore outfit take to the road in support of their new LP, Pardon My French. Amy Lyon + Darren Hendrie + Chris Croken

13th Note, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Singer/songwriter showcase featuring America-born, Scotlandraised singing saxophonist Amy Lyon, amongst others.

Fri 20 Sep

The Fnords (Forekeye + The Wrong Boyfriends)

13th Note, 20:00–23:00, £tbc

Edinburgh and Glasgow-born female-fronted trio, doing lovely things with the genres of garage and punk. Boyce Avenue

The Arches, 19:00–22:00, £25

Floridian acoustic pop-meets-rock band of brothers Alejandro, Fabian and Daniel Manzano. Culann (Duke)

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 20:00–23:00, £5

Irvine-based rock quintet who’ve christened themselves as ‘folkressive’. Pretty much sums ‘em up. Tim Hecker (Pete Swanson)

Old Fruitmarket, 20:00–22:00, £10 (£5)

The Montreal-based ambient electronic musician and sound artist returns to Scottish shores, focused on exploring the intersection of noise, dissonance and melody – fostering a physical and emotive approach to his songcraft.

Exit Calm (Holy Pistol Club + The Barrels)

King Tut’s, 20:30–23:00, £7

Alternative four-piece hailing from South Yorkshire, awash with psychedelic influences and drawing comparisons to early My Bloody Valentine. Janet Devlin

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £8

Yeah, that bird offa the X Factor with the wailing bleedin’ voice. Look suitably busy. Guvna B

Classic Grand, 19:00–22:00, £8 (£6 under 16s)

The urban contemporary gospel rapper and composer – whose name is an acronym of God’s Unique Vessel Now Assigned, don’tchaknow – plays songs from his latest LP.

Oran Mor, 19:00–22:00, £25

Floridian acoustic pop-meets-rock band of brothers Alejandro, Fabian and Daniel Manzano.

Listings

HUMAN IS NOT ALONE (FAT GOTH + UNITED FRUIT + HEY ENEMY + VASQUEZ)

MAINLINER (OKISHIMA ISLAND TOURIST ASSOCIATIONS + LOS TENTAKILLS)

SEARCHING FOR DONKEYS (MANIFOLD + EAT MEAT + BECKON + MILK)

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £6

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Laeto drummer Robbie Cooper tours his DIY fundraiser project, Human Is Not Alone – where the full-throated rallying calls of Fat Goth, United Fruit, Hey Enemy, and Vasquez unite to mark the arrival of a charity LP. Profits to The Marie Curie Trust. JOHNNY REID

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £13.50

The Scottish born, Canadian raised singer/songwriter does his countrified thing. Part of No Mean City Festival.

Sat 21 Sep

KAN (MISS IRENIE ROSE)

CCA, 19:30–22:00, £12 (£8)

Flook and Lau frontmen Brian Finnegan and Aidan O’Rourke join forces with guitarist Ian Stephenson and Manchester drummer Jim Goodwin to create something rather special – touring on the back of their debut album, Sleeper. HECTOR BIZERK

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £5

The much-lauded Glasgow-based alternative hip-hop duo – made up of Louie and Audrey, MC and drummer respectively – launch their new LP down’t Stereo.

Psychedelic noise rock trio hailing from Japan, kicking up a sonic racket with what they’re calling a ‘motorpsycho guitar’.

Tue 24 Sep

CAST THE NET (UNITED GHOSTS + IT GIRL + MODEL JET PILOT)

BLOC+, 21:00–23:30, FREE

Regular showcase night taking in a handpicked selection of exciting new Scottish artists and bands.

LIAM FRAY

The Courteerners frontman does his solo acoustic thing, staying true to his indie-rock roots. SKY LARKIN

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 20:00–23:00, £5

The Leeds-based trio – making indie rock since 2005 and known for touring with the likes of Frightened Rabbit – bring their third album, Motto, to a live setting.

DIRTBOX DISCO (4 PAST MIDNIGHT + THE RED EYES + THE ZIPS)

CLASSIC GRAND, 18:30–21:30, £5

Alternative rock/garage/glam confusion of a thing, who claimed to have been formed from the malfunction of a terrible musical laboratory experiment.

RICHARD DAWSON (HOWIE REEVE)

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £7

Newcastle troubadour hailed for his skewed delivery; singing and playing guitar with a rare intensity and a very singular style.

Sun 22 Sep

THE WAVE PICTURES (SPREAD EAGLE + TEENCANTEEN)

MONO, 19:30–22:00, £6

Witty indie-pop trio headered by vocalist and guitarist Dave Tattersall. CHARLOTTE CHURCH

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £15

The classically-trained Welsh songstress returns to the spotlight under her latter-day pop guise. RAINTOWN (ASH BEFORE OAK + SERENA PRYNE)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £10

Glasgow contemporary countryfolk duo made up of Paul Bain and Claire McArthur. Part of No Mean City Festival. THE PRIMITIVES

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £9

The indie-pop outfit return to Glasgow following last year’s reformed live outing.

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £8

London post-folk musician big on the Celtic lullabies and Caledonian soul.

SAM SMITH (IZZY BIZU)

Manchester-based four-piece spanning rock’n’roll, punk and indie genres.

MISERERE (BARBARIANS + JOSE MACABRA + NEPHTHYS + IC1101 + DISCO MFORT + KAPIL SESHASAYEE)

13TH NOTE, 19:00–23:00, £6

MIKE DIGNAM

Singer/songwriter from Preston, often drawing comparisons to Jason Mraz and James Morrison, quite possibly for his sins.

Listings

TREMORS

THE ROXY 171, 20:30–00:00, £5

Glasgow’s Stance 52 Records first signing, Tremors, launches his second single proper.

CAMPFIRES IN WINTER

The alternative Croy indie-rockers launch their new EP amidst the usual melodic wall of post-rock and experimental noise. ART BRUT

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £10

Berlin-based indie-rock lot, all rambunctious energy and endearingly ramshackle vocal arrangements. STEPHEN KELLOGG

THE ART SCHOOL UNION, 20:00–23:00, £8.50

Singer/songwriter hailing from Massachusetts, playing an uplifting blend of Americana meets country rock. Part of No Mean City Festival. JEMMA TWEEDIE (FEELIX + KAT HEALY + RYAN JOSEPH BURN)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £4

20-year-old self taught musician from the small seaside town of Nairn in the Scottish Highlands.

Thu 26 Sep STEVE DIGGLE

HERCULEAN BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Glasgow ensemble of the melodic alternative rock-meets-pop soundscapes.

THE DANGEROUS SUMMER (VERSES)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

Emo/indie quartet hailing from Maryland, influenced by the likes of Foo Fighters and Jimmy Eat World, amongst others. ETHAN JOHNS (ZERVAS AND PEPPER)

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12

The acclaimed producer, and son of the legendary producer Glyn Johns, performs tracks from his solo LP, If Not Now Then When? Part of No Mean City Festival. ALPHABETICAL ORDER ORCHESTRA

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £5

Members of My Latest Novel take on a new guise, coming fully developed with strong melodies and song structures, as you would expect.

SAINT RAYMOND (CRAIG WHITE + PEPEPRMINT FICTION)

The young Pittburgh rapper and self-taught musician, aka Malcolm McCormick, tours his latest (admittedly poorly-titled) LP, Watching Movies With The Sound Off.

THE WAILERS

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £19.50

GLORYHAMMER (DARKEST ERA + DENDERA)

CLASSIC GRAND, 18:30–22:00, £10

Heroic fantasy power metal five-piece, exploring the more symphonic side of metal. BRIAN HUGHES AND THE LONESHARKS

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £10

The Dumbarton-based new country singer/songwriter celebrates the tenth anniversary of the release of his Windmills LP.

BLACK AND WHITE BOY (MARC EVANS + HOWLIN RADIO)

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:00–22:00, FREE

29-year-old Ayrshire native Andrew Nicol plays under his folkpop Black and White Boy guise, launching his new EP with live band support from pals Luther Sean Hall (on guitar) and Nick Maney (on drums). BREAKING THE BARRIER

AUDIO, 19:00–22:00, £5 ADV. (£8 DOOR)

Urban-based night oot stripping back the boundaries of live music, featuring live hip-hop, rap battles and graffiti mischief. SERGIO SERGIO (TORTUGA)

THE GARAGE, 19:00–22:00, £6

Alternative rock quintet from Glasgow, built on an edgy guitar sound with hints of funk.

PSYCHIC ILLS (DEAD TEMPLE + THE CHERRY WAVE)

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Sat 28 Sep

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £6

The American country music singer, songwriter, musician and actor puts in a Glasgow appearance. Part of No Mean City Festival.

Five northern chaps who, when combined, create a finely-honed, psychedelic-tinged, amp-steeped din of a thing.

PIVO PIVO, 20:00–22:30, £9

Taking a break from the Buzzcocks live schedule, founding member Steve Diggle takes to Pivo Pivo to play an acoustic set covering some Buzzcocks classics alongside his solo work.

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £30

CARLTON MELTON (THE COSMIC DEAD)

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–22:00, £20

BLOC+, 21:00–23:30, FREE

KRIS KRISTOFFERSON (RODDY HART)

Spawned from electroniccentered home recording experiments, the NYC quartet continue to explore a variety of musical terrain, honed by plenty of time on the road.

WIZ KHALIFA

The Pittsburgh-based rapper (aka Cameron Jibril Thomaz) tours on the back of his debut album.

The boundary crossing teenage duo play their inimitable house-meets-garage-meets-pop selections.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 20:00–23:00, £7

Alternative rockers hailing from the Blue Mountains in Sydney.

The legendary Jamaican reggae crew take to the UK to perform their classic album, Legend, in its entirety.

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £8

CCA, 19:30–22:00, £8

CLOUD CONTROL

Mon 23 Sep

The anarcho-Anglo storytellers deliver their own blend of alternative country rock.

BLUE ROSE CODE

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £8

Indie-meets-psych-meetspowerpop four-piece – fronted by the Coventry-born Tracy Tracy, and on the road celebrating the 25th anniversary of their debut LP.

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

CLOSE LOBSTERS

Cricket pop (yep, us neither) from Messrs Duckworth and Lewis, celebrating the release of Sticky Wickets.

Fresh(ish) off tour with Lewis Watson, indie singer/songwriter Saint Raymond takes to the road for his very own autumn tour.

JIM LOCKEY AND THE SOLEMN SUN (STARLING HEIST)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 20:00–23:00, £5

STEREO, 19:00–22:00, £10

THE DUCKWORTH LEWIS METHOD

Wed 25 Sep

FRANK HAMILTON

THE ARCHES, 19:00–22:00, £7.50

THIS SILENT FOREST (CHERRI FOSPHATE + BOOK CLUB)

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £22.50

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 20:00–23:00, £7

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £15

Toronto-based indie-pop quartet, fusing a bit of rock into their mix.

CHARLIE AND THE BHOYS

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £19

Another Barrowland singalong with the Donegal Celtic rockers.

Politically-charged one man folkmachine from London, via Essex.

London-based singer/songwriter known for his highly successful EP, You, Your Cat and Me, produced at the bargain price of £800.

HOODED FANG

Fri 27 Sep

Glasgow-based singer/songwriter led six-piece with one foot in modern Scottish folk and the other in joyous pop.

BEANS ON TOAST

A haphazard collection of acts contribute to a one-off evening of extreme electronics and bonecrushing beats, amongst ‘em Manc freeform noise terrorists, Barbarians, and Londonbased ritualistic techno musician and performance artist, Joe Macabra.

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £7

Inverness-based indie-rock quartet specialising in the balancing of driving beats and melodies.

BONDAX THE ARCHES, 19:00–22:00, £12

MAC MILLER

O2 ACADEMY, 19:00–22:00, £16.50

ATTICA RAGE (ESTRELLA + ROCKBURN)

CLASSIC GRAND, 19:00–22:30, £10

The Ayrshire heavy rockers celebrate the release of their new LP, 88MPH, with the usual bonerattling live outing. THE LAST CARNIVAL

CLASSIC GRAND, 18:30–22:00, £6 ADV. (£8 DOOR)

ADAM HOLMES AND THE EMBERS

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £10

Young rootsy-pop singer/ songwriter Adam Holmes plays accompanied by his five-strong band of players, The Embers.

Thu 05 Sep

EVA PLAYS DEAD (BLACK JACK + JIM ‘N’ THE CRICKETS) BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

Derby-based alternative rockers built on the powerful female vocals of Tiggy Dockerty, bolstered by feisty guitar riffs and a powerhouse rhythm section. THE HOAX (JED POTTS)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:15–22:00, £14 ADV.

High energy blues ensemble, who emerged butterfly-like from a tiny village in deepest Wiltshire back the in early 90s.

LIVE MUSIC @ WHISTLEBINKIES (JOHN TAYLOR + BIG TUNA) WHISTLEBINKIES, 19:00–03:00, FREE

Daily dose of free live music in Binkie’s late night basement hangout, moving between rock, indie, blues, folk, funk and soul. Full line-ups at whistlebinkies.com.

Fri 06 Sep

THE NUMBER 9S (SEA OF CROWN + ROSARY + SHAME)

Pro-queer, pro-female band night for Edinburgh, featuring all-female sets from kitsch electro queen Zdrada Palki, one-woman electropop Londoner, Gaptooth, plus trans hero Seth Corbin.

ADOPTED AS HOLOGRAPH (TUT VU VU)

MONO, 19:30–22:00, £5

Glasgow-based sextet of the dark and skiffly-jazz variety, often referred to as gypsy noir. MONSTER A-GO-GO (HERALDS OF GALACTUS + UNIT 7 + THE MATHEMATICS TEAM)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–23:00, £5

Monster-themed night of live bands, burlesque, go-go dancing and other such fun from the Monster A-Go-Go lot. Prizes for the best dressed monster. MANIC STREET PREACHERS

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £29.50

The Welsh trio are out on the road once more, touring like it’s 1989 with their new album, Rewind The Film. DEAD MEADOW

BROADCAST, 20:00–23:00, £8

Influencial Washington DC stoner/ psych lot, formed in 1998 from the remnants of two young indie DC bands – The Impossible Five and its immediate follow-up, Colour. THE SMITH STREET BAND

13TH NOTE, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Melbourne-hailing folk-punk quartet still touring off the back of their latest EP, Don’t Fuck With Our Dreams.

Mon 30 Sep MILES KANE

BARROWLAND, 19:00–23:00, £17.50

THE FLYING DUCK, 18:30–22:00, £12

THE HYDRO, 18:30–22:00, FROM £60

ROD STEWART

The husky-voiced, mullet-headed one is touring again – now five decades on with a staggering 27 studio albums under his belt, including his latest offering, Time.

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £6 ADV.

PHILLIP TAYLOR (RORY SUTHERLAND + NOW WAKES THE SEA) THE BANSHEE LABYRINTH, 19:30–22:00, £5 ADV.

Phillip Taylor (of PAWS) plays a rare solo show – before heading to New York to record the sophomore PAWS LP – with support from Broken Records’ Rory Sutherland, and Scottish experimental folkies Now Wakes The Sea.

STUBBORN HEART

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £6

Wed 18 Sep

SAD SOCIETY + THE EDDIES + CRITIKILL + BABYLON DUB PUNKS + BUZZBOMB + US VS THEM + DAPITZ + DANIEL WAX OFF

Sat 14 Sep

Edinburgh-based funk and soul eight-piece, formed by a crew of Edinburgh University students.

HENRY’S CELLAR, 19:00–03:00, £7

The political party rockers return to do their guitar-laden noise of a thing, also heralding the return of original bass player Pete McClanahan.

Mini metal festival taking in a selection if the city’s best metal hellraisers.

Eight whole blaady hours of the best in local punk-rock. Go mosh.

Sun 08 Sep

BLOOD RELATIVES (MONSTERS ON MOVIE POSTERS + RACHAEL CORMACK)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £6

Glasgow pop-styled ensemble – none of whom are related to each other, FYI – touring in support of their first LP release.

Mon 09 Sep ROSS ARTHUR

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £4

Young Edinburgh-based singer/ songwriter and guitarist known for his energetic and crowd-pleasing live outings.

Tue 10 Sep

ASTRID STRING QUARTET

USHER HALL, 11:00–12:00, £3 (STUDENTS FREE)

Wed 11 Sep

PUSSY WHIPPED (ZDRADA PALKI + GAPTOOTH + SETH CORBIN)

Fri 13 Sep

STU LARSEN + NATUKI KURAI

THE CAVES, 19:00–23:00, £7

WARRIOR SOUL (A RITUAL SPIRIT + PAPER BEATS ROCK)

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £11 ADV.

THE MARTYN BENNETT PRIZE CONCERT

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 20:00–22:00, £15

Competition for which various Scottish-based musicians have created a 5-10 minute long composition showing its roots in traditional music, with the winner selected on the night by a panel led by Scottish composer Jim Sutherland. LIMBO (ADAM STAFFORD + THANK YOU SO NICE + ET TU BRUTE???

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £6 ADV.

Beloved gig-in-a-club night, this time headered by former Y’All Is Fantasy Island mainman Adam Stafford – whose gem-like new LP continues his inspired experimentation with loop-station, repeating rhythms, minimal guitar and layered vocals.

Sun 15 Sep

THE FALLING RAIN (RED COMMAND + ALE SHORES)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

Heavy rock and metal offerings from the fiery musical furnace of East Lothian. THE RUSS TIPPINS BAND

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £8 ADV.

The classic blues rockers tour in support of their latest LP, Combustion. SLUMBER CLUB

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £6 ADV.

Young pups evoking upstart indie rascals such as Arctic Monkeys and The Maccabees.

ADRIAN BOYLE (THE LITIGATORS + MATT STOCK)

BANNERMANS, 20:00–

BLACK RIOT VALVES

Heavy styled Edinburgh indie lot, surely on the brink of a break.

JAM HOUSE, 19:00–23:00, £10

Following their open call to arms, Canongate take to a party setting to reveal their Canongate 40 – in celebration of their 40th birthday – joined by such luminaries as writer Alasdair Gray, musicians Aidan Moffat and Rick Redbeard. and poet Kate Tempest.

Fri 20 Sep

BIG FAT PANDA (POST ORGASMIC SUNSHINE BAND)

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

More adventures in mash-up ska from the local live favourites. THE WAVE PICTURES (MIRACLE SHIP)

PLEASANCE THEATRE, 20:00–23:00, £7

Witty indie-pop trio headered by vocalist and guitarist Dave Tattersall.

COUNTER CULTURE (CARAVAN CLUB + BLACK RIOT VALVES + THE RHEMEDIES + THE LITIGATORS)

Sat 07 Sep

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

CANONGATE 40: THE OTHER SIDE (MICHEL FABER + MATT HAIG + ALASDAIR GRAY + KATE TEMPEST + JEREMY DYSON + AIDAN MOFFAT + RICK REDBEARD + JAMES RHODES)

Newcastle troubadour hailed for his skewed delivery; singing and playing guitar with a rare intensity and a very singular style.

Old school-styled English punk ensemble formed in Hersham way back when (aka 1976).

Kinross-formed ensemble rich with bluesy hues and powerful harmonies.

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:30–01:00, £6 ADV.

RICHARD DAWSON

SHAM 69

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 19:00–22:00, £6

HUMAN IS NOT ALONE (FAT GOTH + UNITED FRUIT + HEY ENEMY + VASQUEZ)

SUMMERHALL, 20:00–22:00, £7 (£6)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £16

SIENNA (THE YOUTH AND THE YOUNG + THE MARTELLOS)

LET’S PLAY GOD

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £4

The Glasgow metalers take to the ‘burgh for an evening of shredding riffage.

Leith-residing band of ‘burgh punk-rockers, who met in the 70s but only formed a band in 2011.

Madrid-born and based rock’n’rollers founded by bass player Cesar Sanchez and guitarist Nano Paramio.

Chilled showcase of original acoustic acts and bands playing mostly acoustic sets.

Thu 19 Sep

DAPITZ (SUBVISION + THE PHLEGM + THE LAST STAND)

ELDORADO

WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00, £3

THE MAGIC NUMBERS

THE PLEASANCE, 19:30–22:00, £15.50

The sibling ensemble play an allacoustic set of harmonised tunes.

HENRY’S CELLAR, 19:00–22:00, £5

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £6

ALISTAIR CUMMING + JASON KYRON + CURATORS + FIONA REID AND THE ADDICTIONS + CALVIN ARSENIA AND THE EARLS OF GREY

Alternative rock lot from Jersey, led by the mid-Atlantic twang of frontman Chris Nutter.

Reformed 80s psychobilly rockers, back on the stage with a selection of old and new sounds.

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 19:00–22:00, £5

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £6 ADV.

BRAVE YESTERDAY

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £4

FULL MOON FREAKS (THE PUMPKIN JEHSOFATZ + THE BLOODSLUGS)

Edinburgh rock quartet fusing blues and alternative rock into their own unique mix.

Soulful jazz/pop musician from Newcastle, touring with his debut album, The Stories That Occurred.

THE FOO BIRDS

WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00, £4

WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00, £5

PENNY BLACK (INDIGO SIXTEEN + THE RICH + OLYS)

SAM DICKINSON (ELISSA CONWAY + ROSS CAMPBELL)

Glasgow singer/songwriter for whom no two shows are ever the same, depending on whether he plays a solo show with his loop pedal, a full band, or even as a string quartet.

Electronic-meets-soul duo Luca Santucci and Ben Fitzgerald hit Edinburgh.

WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00, £3

The favourited London rock’n’roll night takes a trip to Scotland, with a selection of live bands taking to the stage.

The Chemikal Underground instrumental guitar virtuoso tours the follow up LP to his SAY Awardwinning Thirteen Lost & Found, ably supported by Aerogramme/ Unwinding Hours chap, Craig B.

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

The young string collective return to the stage after a hectic Edinburgh festival, performing a morning set as part of Usher Hall’s Emerging Artist Series.

HENRY’S CELLAR, 19:00–22:00, £5

ST ANDREW’S IN THE SQUARE, 19:30–22:00, £10

RM HUBBERT (CRAIG B)

HELLRAISER FLESHTIVAL (BLACK TALON + DOG TIRED + ASTIF + EAGLETOMB)

Heavy Edinburgh post-punksters, led by singer/songwriter Stepher Scarcliffe.

THIS FEELING (SOS + CARAVAN CLUB + THE KIKS + CARNIVAL)

The non-Arctic Monkey half of the Last Shadow Puppets does his nostalgic Merseybeat thing.

Acoustic up-close-and-personal encounter with Randy Scott and Randy Young (aka Cherry Suede), playing songs from their new LP, Between Here and There, alongside a classic or two.

Tue 03 Sep

Sun 29 Sep

More pumping melodies and driving guitar from the energetic rock five-piece, if you can handle it. CHERRY SUEDE

Edinburgh Music

MICK HARGAN (RACHEL ANN WEISS) SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

New showcase night aimed at uncovering great bands right under our nose (i.e. from our dear capital).

23:00, £5

Unplugged folk night headed up by Cromwell-based modern soul crooner Adrian Boyle.

Thu 12 Sep JUSTIN CURRIE

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, £20

The Scottish singer/songwriter – famous for his role as a founding member of Del Amitri – takes his nineties pop/rock sound on the road. THE SCAMS (KING LIZARD + THE FUZZ DRIVERS + PSYCHO SUNDAY)

BANNERMANS, 19:00–23:00, £6

Stripped down Swedish rock outfit mixing classic riffs with some new school punk, currently in the midst of a European tour for their new LP, Bombs Away.

Sat 21 Sep Mon 16 Sep JOE PUG (AARON FYFE)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £7

Chicago-based singer/songwriter who abandoned playwriting in favour of becoming a musician.

Tue 17 Sep KNOX AND ION

USHER HALL, 11:00–22:00, £3 (STUDENTS FREE)

Newly-formed guitar duo blending a virtuosic mix of Latin, world and jazz music. Performing a morning set as part of Usher Hall’s Emerging Artist Series.

MECHANICAL ARMS (VERTEBREA + THESE FADING POLAROIDS)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 19:00–22:00, £5

Edinburgh-born experimental rockers formed by two sets of brothers. BOYCE AVENUE

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £25

Floridian acoustic pop-meets-rock band of brothers Alejandro, Fabian and Daniel Manzano. CULANN (MIASMA + DONNIE WILLOW + THE SACCHARINES)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

Irvine-based rock quintet who’ve christened themselves as ‘folkressive’. Pretty much sums ‘em up.

THE SKINNY

EXIT CALM (DELTA MAINLINE)

SWEET HARMONY

BAINBRIDGE INTRODUCING

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £7 ADV.

USHER HALL, 11:00–22:00, £3 (STUDENTS FREE)

WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00, £5

Alternative four-piece hailing from South Yorkshire, awash with psychedelic influences and drawing comparisons to early My Bloody Valentine. STUART DAVIS

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £7

Zen Buddhist indierocker, comic and allround talented chap. JOHNNY REID

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:00–22:00, £13.50

Young soprano/mezzo/ piano combo with a love of Mozart, Debussy, Schumann and the like. Performing a morning set as part of Usher Hall’s Emerging Artist Series.

LIVE MUSIC @ WHISTLEBINKIES (VIOLENT WHISPERS + LIEUTENANT TANGO + THE DIVERSIONS) WHISTLEBINKIES, 20:00–03:00, FREE

The Scottish born, Canadian raised singer/songwriter does his countrified thing.

Daily dose of free live music in Binkie’s late night basement hangout, moving between

Monthly showcase selection of new bands who’ve been using Bainbridge Studios facilities this month.

NEU! REEKIE! (BILLY LETFORD + THE WELLGREEN + LINDEN)

Tue 03 Sep

SUMMERHALL, 19:00–22:15, £7 ADV.

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Stellar night of avant-garde poetry, music and short film, this time taking in musical performances from vintage-inspired duo The Wellgreen and former Superstar chap, Linden, plus poetry from Billy Letford and myriad other lyrical and literary delights.

Sat 28 Sep

FORTH VALLEY CHORUS

USHER HALL, 19:30–22:00, £16 (£14)

Hearty choral mix of jazz, swing, gospel, pop and classic barbershop from the all-female chorus group. MELANIE PAIN

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £12 ADV.

The Nouvelle Vague front lady does her solo thing, marking a departure from her breathy pop renditions and making quite the impact with her new album, My Name. ALY BAIN + PHIL CUNNINGHAM

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £17

Traditional Scots fiddle and accordion duo now in their 27th year of touring together. SWANFIELD INTRODUCING

WEE RED BAR, 19:00–22:00, £5

Monthly showcase selection of new bands who’ve been using Swanfield Studios facilities this month. THE BEN POOLE BAND

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £8 ADV.

Sun 22 Sep 65DAYSOFSTATIC

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £14

Notoriously difficult to pin down, you’ll find these chaps stomping grounds in the place where rock, dance and electronic meet. Expect a frenetic live show. ROYAL SOUTHERN BROTHERHOOD

THE CAVES, 19:15–23:00, £16

Louisiana quartet making amplified soul for a new generation.

LIVE MUSIC @ WHISTLEBINKIES (SEA BASS KID + MACPOLVO) WHISTLEBINKIES, 21:30–03:00, FREE

Daily dose of free live music in Binkie’s late night basement hangout, moving between rock, indie, blues, folk, funk and soul. Full line-ups at whistlebinkies.com.

Mon 23 Sep THE PRIMITIVES

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £10 ADV.

Indie-meets-psych-meets-powerpop four-piece – fronted by the Coventry-born Tracy Tracy, and on the road celebrating the 25th anniversary of their debut LP.

AKORD (MOUNTAINS UNDER OCEANS + WE CAME FROM THE NORTH + ALPHASKY) SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

Scots-based progressive metal hellraisers led by Sandy Bain on bass and vocals.

COLDROAD (KINGS GAMBET + THE SOUTHPAW)

BANNERMANS, 22:00–23:00, £TBC

Power blues rock outfit hailing from the capital.

Tue 24 Sep JOE BONAMASSA

EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE, 19:30–22:00, FROM £36

The American blues rocker previews songs from his forthcoming album, alongside a selection of songs cherrypicked from his back catalogue. HONNINGBARNA

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £6 ADVANCE + STBF

Punk-rock ensemble (whose name literally translates as honey children) from Norway, singing in their native language. SARAH SLEAN (UNKLE BOB)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £10 ADV.

The multi-faceted Canadian singer, songwriter and pianist plays a set cherrypicked from her ambitious new double LP, Land & Sea, incorporatings aspects of cabaret, rock, pop and orchestral.

September 2013

rock, indie, blues, folk, funk and soul. Full line-ups at whistlebinkies.com.

Wed 25 Sep LAURA MARLING

USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00, FROM £17.50

The Hampshire-born nu-folkster moves from slow-burning tales of forbidden love to building barnstormers, as is her merry way, playing a special solo acoustic taking in tunes from her new LP, Once I Was An Eagle. BEANS ON TOAST

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £6 ADV.

Politically-charged one man folkmachine from London, via Essex. TIM BURGESS

THE PLEASANCE, 19:30–22:00, £15.50

The Charlatan’s man takes his solo album (and blonde mullet) on the road proper. HANZEL UND GRETYL (DEADCELL + METALTECH)

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £9 ADV.

American industrial metal outfit formed by members of Kaizer Von Loopy and Vas Kallas back in’t February 1993.

Thu 26 Sep

Glasgow Clubs

Young blues guitarist infused with a hard-hitting in yer face rock approach, playing a live band set. THE WYND

HENRY’S CELLAR, 19:00–22:00, £5

Edinburgh-based indie-rockers who somewhat humbly describe their thang as ‘good’, god bless them.

Sun 29 Sep JON GOMM (KAT HEALY)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £10 ADV.

The Blackpool native – best known for stacking up over four million views on his Passionflower video on YouTube – brings his Beatles, Radiohead and John Coltraneinspired sound to Manchester.

SCOTTISH NATIONAL JAZZ ORCHESTRA + BRANFORD MARSALIS

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £20 (£15)

Legendary saxophonist Branford Marsalis joins the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra to pay tribute to another of jazz’s true greats: saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter. BBC SCOTTISH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: MOZART’S REQUIEM

USHER HALL, 16:00–19:00, FROM £10.50

BBC SSO and Chief Conductor

KILLER KITSCH

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

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Duncan Harvey plays a mix of vintage rock ‘n’ roll, sleazy R’n’B, swing, soul, surf and pop from a bygone age. I AM (BRACKLES)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (FREE VIA IAMCLUB.CO.UK)

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of house, techno and electronica, joined for a garage set by Rinse FM stalwart Brackles. TV TUESDAY

THE GARAGE, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

Weekly Tuesday party playing a selection of dancefloor-friendly anthems.

Wed 04 Sep TAKE IT SLEAZY

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

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

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Ray Vose and Desoto at the helm. MUSIQUE BOUTIQUE

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3

Disco-styled party night with Alfredo Crolla spinning a selection of favourites, bolstered by karaoke and popcorn stalls, just cos. BEAST WEDNESDAYS

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Midweek rammy of pop punk, hardcore and deadly slushy drinks.

Thu 05 Sep MISBEHAVIN’

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Monthly mish-mash of electro, dance and dirty pop with DJ Drucifer. CRYOTEC

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £3

Monthly dose of industrial, EBM and electronic. We hear it’s very danceable. JELLYBABY

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £3 ADV. (£5 DOOR)

Chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer. NEVERLAND

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

GERRY JABLONSKI AND THE ELECTRIC BAND (MAIN STREET BLUES)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £8.50 ADV.

Electric blues-styled ensemble hailing from Aberdeen.

Fri 06 Sep

ANIMAL FARM (REGIS + SHIFTED)

SUB CLUB, 11:00PM – 3:00AM, £12

Animal Farm return to Subbie with two of the UK’s deadliest techno exports, Regis and Shifted, in tow. OLD SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul. DAMNATION

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

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

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

CATHOUSE FRIDAYS: GAME OF THRONES PARTY

CATHOUSE, 22:30–04:00, £6 (£5)

The Cathouse host a themed Game of Thrones bash, with prizes for the best dressed. JAISU

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

Special launch party for Jaisu’s new LP, with support from Lucky Me signing S-Tyoe, Jon Phonics and Inkke.

HANDPICKED: CASSETTE DAY SPECIAL (CHEEKY FORTY + DENNEY + MR. TUNER) BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£2 AFTER 12)

The Handpicked Cassette Tape label celebrate all things warm, fuzzy and lo-fidelity in celebration of the first annual worldwide Cassette Store Day (which is the following day), with live soundtrack provided by Cheeky Forty, Denney and Mr. Tuner.

Sat 07 Sep NU SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

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

SLOUCH, 23:00–03:00, FREE

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

BADSEED

BOOTY CALL

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

ABSOLUTION

CLASSIC GRAND, 22:30–03:00, £6

THE ROCK SHOP

MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£3 STUDENT AFTER 12)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Rock, indie and golden indie classics with resident DJ Heather McCartney.

JAMMING FRIDAYS

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 11.30)

THUNDER DISCO CLUB

Regular TDC outing of danceable disco-infused house. MAGGIE MAY’S, 22:00–03:00, FREE (£5/£3 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Indie rock’n’roll from the 60s to the 00s, with resident tune-picker DJ Jopez. THE SHED FRIDAYS

SHED, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

LOVE MUSIC

Saturday night disco with Gerry Lyons and guests. RIP THIS JOINT

SLOUCH, 23:00–03:00, FREE

DJ Jopez plays a choice selection of indie, rock, blues and funk. DEATHKILL4000

Pop and chart hits with Andy Robertson in the main room, plus DJ Del playing the ol’ hippity-hop in the Red Room.

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

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

YES!

New gay indie night on the block, with a playlist that mixes classic Bowie, The Smiths, Blondie et al alongside new kids like Django Djanjo and Grimes. ODDIO

Monthly residency manned by Weegie stalwart Jim Hutchison.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

BLACKFRIARS BASEMENT, 23:00–03:00, FREE

SHORE

One-off night manned by Monty Funk and Michael Urquhart, rather predictably playing mostly odd disco, allied with snatches of house and bass.

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

Themed night with a live Twitter feed and a bouncy castle for added LOLs.

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £8 ADV.

Charity battle of the bands, featuring a mix of original and covers outfits. Raising funds for Edinburgh’s Bethany Christian Trust.

SAINT JUDES, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

The forward-thinking new Saint Judes weekly launches with a set from Bristol producer New York Transit Authority, aka he of the 808-centric house.

Mixed bag of indie and chart classics across four rooms, plus karaoke shenanigans.

DISCO RIOT

RM HUBBERT (CRAIG B + AIDAN MOFFAT) (AIDAN MOFFAT + CRAIG B)

THE LIQUID ROOM, 18:00–22:00, £5 ADV.

DIFFERENT DRUM: LAUNCH NIGHT (NEW YORK TRANSIT AUTHORITY)

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Instrumental acoustic guitar player with some rather fine legato and finger tapping skills at his disposal.

BATTLE OF THE BANDS (THE MEDIA WHORES + SATELLITES + COLUMBIA + HIGH PRIORITY + THE MINIONZ + BOND JOVI + THE NEW SHMOO + THE SIGNALS )

The Danse Macabre regulars once again unite those two happiest of bedfellows – goth rock and, er, classic disco – in celebration of their third birthday. Cake, a guest set from DJ Hush and a late license seal the deal.

Badass mix of indie, rock and electro with DJ Heather McCartney.

TRACE BUNDY (KAT HEALY)

Fri 27 Sep

ODDISCO

THE FLYING DUCK, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Midweek party night with resident Bobby Bluebell playing classic house only.

THE VOODOO ROOMS, 19:30–22:00, £9 ADV.

The Chemikal Underground instrumental guitar virtuoso tours the follow up LP to his SAY Awardwinning Thirteen Lost & Found, ably supported by Aerogramme/ Unwinding Hours chap, Craig B, plus spoken word from a certain Mr Moffat.

DANSE MACABRE: 3RD BIRTHDAY

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–04:00, £4

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £5.00

THE MESS AROUND

All-new Friday party, with resident Duncan Harvey playing the best in vintage r’n’b,

BLOC+, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£2 AFTER 12)

I HEART GARAGE SATURDAYS

Student superclub playing everything from hip-hop to dance and funk to chart. FREAKBEATS

THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Mod, soul, ska and groovy freakbeat 45s, with DJs Jamo, Paul Molloy and Gareth McCallum. SUPERMAX

THE BERKELEY SUITE, 23:00–03:00, £5.00

A taste of the decadent sound systems of NYC’s disco era with yer main man Billy Woods. STRANGE PARADISE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £4

Party night from Wild Combination man David Barbarossa, specializing in leftfield disco, post-punk and far-out pop. THE SHED SATURDAYS

SHED, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

Donald Runnicles conducts a special performance of Mozart’s acclaimed unfinished Requiem. THE ARCHIVE PROJECT

SUMMERHALL, 19:00–22:00, £8 (£6)

The young musicians who plundered the archives of the School of Scottish Studies present the fruits of their labour – new tunes, old tunes re-worked, and found voices – featuring musicians from the Edinburgh Youth Gaitherin Big Band.

Mon 30 Sep LAURA MVULA

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, £15

Soul lady of the moment, imbued with gospel stylings and a voice that’ll most likely make you stop and savour.

Frothy weekend mix of commercial pop and cheese classics, plus DJ Del playing the ol’ hippity-hop in the Red Room.

Eclectic new party night playing everything from the electronic aquatic funk of Drexciya to the outer-space jazz of Sun Ra.

TOO DARN HOT

BLACKFRIARS BASEMENT, 23:00–03:00, £3

Lou Hickey and Tony Poprock play a speakeasy mix of rock’n’roll, R’n’B, big band and swing.

R.U.IN THURSDAYS

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Rock, metal and emo mix up, plus guest DJs mixing it up in the Jager Bar. HIP HOP THURSDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3

Early weekend party starter, with Euan Neilson playing the best in classic R’n’B and hip-hop.

MELTING POT (JOEY NEGRO)

rock’n’roll, soul, funk, rockabilly and swing. That do you? TICTACTOE WAREHOUSE PARTY

SWG3, 22:00–03:00, £10 EARLYBIRD

The TicTacToe mob return for another house and techno session – this time in full-on, seven-whole-hours of warehouse partying stylee, with the residents joined by raw house specialist and Circoloco resident, Cassy.

THE ADMIRAL, 23:00–03:00, £10 ADV. (£12 DOOR)

The Melting Pot residents welcome back record collector, DJ, producer and label owner Joey Negro – a champion of all things disco for over two decades. WAX WORKS VS CRYPTIC (PHASE)

STEREO, 23:00–03:00, £5

Was Works and Crytic join forces to welcome Token label artist Phase to Scotland for his first appearance, offering a rare chance to see the rising techno star in such intimate surrounds.

TRIBAL PULSE (ACIDULANT + BOOM MERCHANT) MAKE DO, 23:00–03:00, £5 ADV. (£7 DOOR)

All-new label and club night, Tribal Pulse, host their third outing – bringing rising star of electronic music, Acidulant, to their lair, with support from fresh house/electro chappie Boom Merchant (whom Acidulant recently remixed for Tribal Pulse).

1994 (ULTRA-SONIC + HARDFLOOR + TREVOR REILLY + BASS GENERATOR + JOE DEACON) THE ARCHES, 23:00–03:00, £15 EARLYBIRD

One-off rave featuring the classic sounds that rocked Hanger 13, Metro and Ingliston waybackwhen – featuring five artists who were instrumental in making that time unforgettable.

MADE FOR THE NIGHT (CHEZ DAMIER + JESSE ROSE + MOSCA + JUS-ED + OLIVER $) THE ARCHES, 22:00–03:00, £10 EARLYBIRD

LA-based house specialist Jesse Rose hosts another edition of her curated club night, taking place between Watergate, Berlin and The Arches, Glasgow. SUBCULTURE VS OPTIMO: BOAT PARTY

THE WAVERLEY, 19:00–23:00, £25

A double dose of Subbie tag-teams take to the waves, with Subculture’s Harri and Domenic locking horns with Optimo’s JD Twitch and JG Wilkes – on a boat, as you do. Pick up from Glasgow Science Centre.

CATHOUSE SATURDAYS: STAR WARS PARTY

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

The Cathouse host a themed Star Wars bash, with prizes for the best dressed. LUSKA (JON GURD)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8 (£10 AFTER 12)

Hypnotic house and techno specialist – and Primal Rhythm label owner – Jon Gurd takes over deck duty at Luska for the evening. GBX ANTHEMS (GEORGE BOWIE)

69 BELOW, 21:00–03:00, £10

Glasgow DJing legend George Bowie heads up GBX’s first outing at their new home, 69 Below, with a plethora of support from the likes of Paul Zitkus & Stephen Lynn, David Eadie and Andy Robson.

Sun 08 Sep SUNDAY ROASTER

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Residents Garry and Andrew incite more mayhem than should really be allowed on the Sabbath, taking in chart anthems, mash-ups and requests. RENEGADE

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Rock, metal and punk playlists all night long, selected by yer man DJ Mythic. OPEN SUNDAYS

SHED, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£3 AFTER 12)

The Shed open their doors on the day of the Lord for their messy weekend-extender of a night. Free entry before midnight. MUSIC LANGUAGE: AFTER-PARTY

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy play host to the offical after-bash for DIY musical weekender, Music Language Festival (6-8 Sep). SAMSON SOUNDS

THE ROXY 171, 20:00–23:00, £3

TV TUESDAY THE GARAGE, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

Weekly Tuesday party playing a selection of dancefloor-friendly anthems. KILLER KITSCH (MY NU LENG)

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£5)

The Killer Kitsch residents take charge – eight years old and still offering up the best in house, techno and electronic, joined for a one-off guest set by Bristol bass duo My Nu Leng (marking their Scottish debut, no less). I AM: 3RD BIRTHDAY, PART I

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (FREE VIA IAMCLUB.CO.UK)

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of house, techno and electronica, celebrating part one (of three) Glasgow birthday shindigs – with special guests being kept under wraps for now.

Wed 11 Sep SUB ROSA

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Ray Vose and Desoto at the helm. MUSIQUE BOUTIQUE

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3

Midweek party night with resident Bobby Bluebell playing classic house only. DISCO RIOT

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Disco-styled party night with Alfredo Crolla spinning a selection of favourites, bolstered by karaoke and popcorn stalls, just cos. DEATH BY UNGA BUNGA

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Summer-styled party night playing the best in garage, soul, rockabilly, punk, surf and anything else you can sway along to. BEAST WEDNESDAYS

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Midweek rammy of pop punk, hardcore and deadly slushy drinks.

Thu 12 Sep JELLYBABY

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £3 ADV. (£5 DOOR)

Chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer. NEVERLAND

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Themed night with a live Twitter feed and a bouncy castle for added LOLs. SHORE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Eclectic new party night playing everything from the electronic aquatic funk of Drexciya to the outer-space jazz of Sun Ra. R.U.IN THURSDAYS

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Rock, metal and emo mix up, plus guest DJs mixing it up in the Jager Bar. HIP HOP THURSDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3

Early weekend party starter, with Euan Neilson playing the best in classic R’n’B and hip-hop. DIFFERENT DRUM (ARTIFACT)

SAINT JUDES, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

The forward-thinking new Saint Judes weekly plays host to a set from London-based producer Artifact, from whom you can expect techno-flavoured minimal dubs, UKG, future bass and textured drops.

Reggae, dub and jungle night.

Fri 13 Sep

Mon 09 Sep

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

BURN

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/FREE WITH WAGE SLIP)

Long-running trade night with Normski, Zeus and Mash spinning disco beats. SPACE INVADER

THE GARAGE, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Andy R plays chart hits and requests past and present, while DJ David Lo Pan holes up in The Attic playing retro classics. JIMMY EAT WORLD: AFTER-PARTY

CATHOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Official after-bash for the Arizona-hailing rock quartet’s 02 Academy set earlier in the evening.

Tue 10 Sep VOODOO VOODOO

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Duncan Harvey plays a mix of vintage rock ‘n’ roll, sleazy R’n’B, swing, soul, surf and pop from a bygone age.

OLD SKOOL

Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul. DAMNATION

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £6

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

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

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

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

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

CATHOUSE, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Residents night of rock, metal, punk and emo over two levels. BADSEED

SLOUCH, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Badass mix of indie, rock and electro with DJ Heather McCartney.

Listings

Common People

All The Rage

i AM: 3rd Birthday, Part II

Bottle Rocket

I Heart Garage Saturdays

The Flying Duck, 21:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Blackfriars Basement, 23:00–03:00, £4

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (free via iamclub.co.uk)

The Flying Duck, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Celebration of all things 90s, with hits a-plenty and a pre-club bingo session. Booty Call

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Mixed bag of indie and chart classics across four rooms, plus karaoke shenanigans. Jamming Fridays

Maggie May’s, 22:00–03:00, Free (£5/£3 student after 12)

Indie-pop party playing the best in alternative pop and underground indie.

Streetrave: 24th Birthday, Part I (Frankie Knuckles)

The Arches, 22:00–03:00, £20

Streetrave celebrate a massive 24-years with the first of two birthday sessions, with this one featuring a live set from godfather of house, Frankie Knuckles.

Indie rock’n’roll from the 60s to the 00s, with resident tune-picker DJ Jopez.

Sync In Squares (Pearson Sound + Benji B)

Shed, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Forward-thinking new club crew, Sync In Squares, host their first September outing, this time with a double whammy of guests in the form of Hessle Audio honcho Pearson Sound and Radio 1’s Benji B.

The Shed Fridays

Pop and chart hits with Andy Robertson in the main room, plus DJ Del playing the ol’ hippity-hop in the Red Room. The Mess Around

Blackfriars Basement, 23:00–03:00, Free

All-new Friday party, with resident Duncan Harvey playing the best in vintage r’n’b, rock’n’roll, soul, funk, rockabilly and swing. That do you? Wolf Music

The Berkeley Suite, 23:00–03:00, £5

The label which launched the likes of Medlar, KRL, Greymatter and Bicep comes howling back to Glasgow, as Wolf Music bosses Matt and Stu head up a night of unbridled house pleasure. Missing Persons Club (DJ Qu)

Saint Judes, 23:00–03:00, £6 earlybird

Monthly party night this time featuring New Jersey-based DJ and producer DJ Qu. Is This It?

The Flying Duck, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

The Duck’s first night dedicated to all things 90s, meaning they will play Daft Punk. Return To Mono (Pig & Dan)

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £10

Monthly night from Soma Records taking in popular techno offerings of all hues, this month welcoming longstanding duo Igor Tchkotoua and Dan Duncan (aka Pig & Dan) to their lair. KiNK

La Cheetah Club, 23:00–03:00, £10

La Cheetah play host to a charcacteristically innovative set from Strahil Velchev (aka KiNK) – relied upon to incorporate in his records the very best examples of electronic music.

Make Do, 23:00–03:00, £10 adv. (£15 door)

Naive (Maurice Fulton)

The Berkeley Suite, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

The Naive crew play host to a special set from rhythmically inventive – and publicity-shy – producer, Maurice Fulton.

Subculture (Marquis Hawkes + Delano Smith)

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Subculture residents Harri & Domenic welcome a duo of special guests in the form of a set of all-vinyl techno pressure from the star of Dixon Avenue Basement Jams, Marquis Hawkes, and Detroit-raised house DJ Delano Smith. Cathouse Saturdays (Daniel P Carter) Cathouse, 22:30–04:00, £6 (£5)

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

Residents Bosco and Rob Mason bring acid-house, techno and rave back to the dancefloor – with this edition paying tribute to Ron Hardy by inviting Billy Woods for a Mucic Box tribute night.

Sun 15 Sep Sunday Roaster

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £4

Renegade

Rock, metal and punk playlists all night long, selected by yer man DJ Mythic. Open Sundays

Shed, 22:30–03:00, Free (£3 after 12)

The Rock Shop

The Shed open their doors on the day of the Lord for their messy weekend-extender of a night. Free entry before midnight.

Maggie May’s, 22:00–03:00, Free (£5/£3 student after 12)

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

Violent Sweat

Rock, indie and golden indie classics with resident DJ Heather McCartney. Love Music

New free Sunday party night deigned to make y’all sweat – violently – to a mix of disco, nu-disco and house.

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, Free (£5 after 11.30)

Mon 16 Sep

Rip This Joint

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/Free with wage slip)

Saturday night disco with Gerry Lyons and guests. Slouch, 23:00–03:00, Free

DJ Jopez plays a choice selection of indie, rock, blues and funk. Back Tae Mine

The Flying Duck, 23:00–03:00, £8

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Ray Vose and Desoto at the helm. Musique Boutique

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

Midweek party night with resident Bobby Bluebell playing classic house only. Disco Riot

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Disco-styled party night with Alfredo Crolla spinning a selection of favourites, bolstered by karaoke and popcorn stalls, just cos. BEAST Wednesdays: Freshers Tundra Party

Cathouse, 23:00–04:00, £4 (£2)

Midweek rammy of pop punk, hardcore and deadly slushy drinks, this week hosting a freshers special with an extended 4am licence. Ouch.

Thu 19 Sep Jellybaby

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £3 adv. (£5 door)

La Cheetah Club, 23:00–03:00, £10

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £6

Sub Rosa

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

The Frogbeats crew pump out the jungle and D’n’B beats a-plenty, as per.

Let’s Go Back… Way Back (Billy Woods)

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

Absolution

Not Moving

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

South African house, grime, jungle, R’n’B and hauntology. A tropical mix, ayes.

Chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

Sat 14 Sep Nick Peacock spins a selection of vintage disco, soul and funk.

Wed 18 Sep

Punk, rock and metallic beats with DJs Billy and Muppet – joined for a guest slot by Kerrang Radio’s Daniel P Carter.

Residents Garry and Andrew incite more mayhem than should really be allowed on the Sabbath, taking in chart anthems, mash-ups and requests.

Nu Skool

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of house, techno and electronica, celebrating part two (of three) Glasgow birthday shindigs – with special guests being kept under wraps for now.

Burn

Long-running trade night with Normski, Zeus and Mash spinning disco beats. Space Invader

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Frogbeats

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Neverland

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Themed night with a live Twitter feed and a bouncy castle for added LOLs. Shore

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

Eclectic new party night playing everything from the electronic aquatic funk of Drexciya to the outer-space jazz of Sun Ra. R.U.IN Thursdays

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Rock, metal and emo mix up, plus guest DJs mixing it up in the Jager Bar. Hip Hop Thursdays

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

Early weekend party starter, with Euan Neilson playing the best in classic R’n’B and hip-hop. Hex

La Cheetah Club, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£4 after 12)

Thursday takeover from the Hex lot, returning to La Cheetah for a full-on house and techno session. Tigerbeat

The Flying Duck, 22:00–03:00, Free

Subcity’s Tigerbeat launches a new night of the finest lost sounds from deserts and jungles. Different Drum: Freshers Special (Lone + Cooly G)

Saint Judes, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 after 12)

Tue 17 Sep Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

Classic Grand, 23:00–03:00, £6

Bloc+, 23:00–03:00, Free (£2 after 12)

Messy Saturday night uber-disco featuring a rotating schedule of live talent. The Shed Saturdays

Shed, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

Frothy weekend mix of commercial pop and cheese classics, plus DJ Del playing the ol’ hippity-hop in the Red Room. Wrong Island

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £4

The legendary Teamy and Dirty Larry spin some fresh electronics for your aural pleasure.

Listings

Duncan Harvey plays a mix of vintage rock ‘n’ roll, sleazy R’n’B, swing, soul, surf and pop from a bygone age. TV Tuesday

The Garage, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

Weekly Tuesday party playing a selection of dancefloor-friendly anthems. Killer Kitsch (DJ EZ)

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

The Killer Kitsch residents take charge, eight years old and still offering up the best in house, techno and electronic – joined for a guest set by Tottenham garage specialist DJ EZ.

A Love From Outer Space

The Berkeley Suite, 23:00–03:00, £8

Andrew Weatherall and Sean Johnston’s rather ace London night makes its now regular trip north, with the mighty duo playing backto-back all night long. Gays In Space

Bloc+, 23:00–03:00, Free (£2 after 12)

The intergalactic gay disco party returns, spinning a selection of 70s, 80s, Nu, Italo and, o’course, space disco tuneage. Plus pizza! The Shed Fridays

Shed, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Pop and chart hits with Andy Robertson in the main room, plus DJ Del playing the ol’ hippity-hop in the Red Room. Kill Yr Idols

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £3

DIY disco with a punk attitude, where psychedelic voodoo grooves meet souped-up turbo-tech, played out by the regulars and their occasional guests. Sensu

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Barry Price and Junior provide the cutting edge electonic from across the globe, with a guest or two likely in tow. The Mess Around

Blackfriars Basement, 23:00–03:00, Free

All-new Friday party, with resident Duncan Harvey playing the best in vintage r’n’b, rock’n’roll, soul, funk, rockabilly and swing. That do you? Dimitri Vegas + Like Mike

The Arches, 22:00–03:00, £sold out

Belgian dance producer brothers Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike make their Arches debut. Offbeat (DJ Funk)

La Cheetah Club, 23:00–03:00, £10 adv.

The Offbeat collective welcome ghetto house music supremo DJ Funk to their La Cheetah lair.

Sat 21 Sep Nu Skool

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

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

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £6

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

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic manning the decks. Cathouse Saturdays

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Punk, rock and metallic beats with DJs Billy and Muppet. The Rock Shop

Maggie May’s, 22:00–03:00, Free (£5/£3 student after 12)

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, Free (£5 after 11.30)

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Fantastic Man

Indie rock’n’roll from the 60s to the 00s, with resident tune-picker DJ Jopez.

Fri 20 Sep Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul.

Voodoo Voodoo

Jamming Fridays

Maggie May’s, 22:00–03:00, Free (£5/£3 student after 12)

Rock, indie and golden indie classics with resident DJ Heather McCartney.

Andy R plays chart hits and requests past and present, while DJ David Lo Pan holes up in The Attic playing retro classics.

I Heart Garage Saturdays

Booty Call

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Mixed bag of indie and chart classics across four rooms, plus karaoke shenanigans.

The forward-thinking new Saint Judes weekly host a special freshers fun night, headed up by a duo of big-hitters in the form of R&S’ Lone and Hyperdub’s Cooly G.

House-party styled night with residents Gav Dunbar and Sci-Fi Steve, plus free toast for all as standard. Student superclub playing everything from hip-hop to dance and funk to chart.

Indie dancing club, playing anything and everything danceable.

Old Skool

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

Damnation

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

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

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

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Residents night of rock, metal, punk and emo over two levels. Badseed

Slouch, 23:00–03:00, Free

Badass mix of indie, rock and electro with DJ Heather McCartney.

Love Music

Saturday night disco with Gerry Lyons and guests. Code (Tommy Four Seven)

La Cheetah Club, 23:00–03:00, £6 earlybird (£10 thereafter)

Code welcome back returning guest Tommy Four Seven (aka T47) for another night of Berghainstyle deep and driving techno – notching up his fourth appearance at the night. Rip This Joint

Slouch, 23:00–03:00, Free

DJ Jopez plays a choice selection of indie, rock, blues and funk. Shout Bamalama

Blackfriars Basement, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 after 12)

Vintage 50s and 60s dancefloor sounds handpicked from genres of r’n’b, rock’n’roll and soul.

Student superclub playing everything from hip-hop to dance and funk to chart.

i AM: 3rd Birthday, Part III (Simian Mobile Disco) Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (free via iamclub.co.uk)

Andy Divine and Chris Geddes’ gem of a night dedicated to 7-inch singles from every genre imaginable.

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of house, techno and electronica, celebrating part three (of three) Glasgow birthday shindigs – joined on the night by electronic duo par excellence, Simian Mobile Disco.

Audio, 22:00–03:00, Free

Wed 25 Sep

Singles Night

The Flying Duck, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Symbiosis

Innovative D’n’B beats in a relaxed, bass-rich environment. The Shed Saturdays

Shed, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

Frothy weekend mix of commercial pop and cheese classics, plus DJ Del playing the ol’ hippity-hop in the Red Room. TYCI

Bloc+, 23:00–03:00, Free (£2 after 12)

The all-female collective, blog and fanzine brings together a selection of live acts and DJs for their monthly electro party night. Adventures In Paradise

The Admiral, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£7 after 12.30)

Wayne Dickson, Malcolm McKenzie and Roddie Gibb host their monthly party, fuelled on uptown funk and soulful disco tuneage. Freefall: The Return (Orjan Nilsen + Ben Gold + Estiva + Will Atkinson + DJ Argy + David Rust)

The Arches, 22:00–03:00, £14 earlybird

Freefall makes its Arches return, offering a mix of progressive, tech trance, power trance and bosh across two rooms, with a headline set from Norwegian trance producer/DJ Orjan Nilsen. Black Tent (Antoni Maiowi)

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £3

Indie, electro and anything inbetween with Pauly (My Latest Novel), and Simin and Steev (Errors) – joined for a rare guest slot by Antoni Maiowi.

Sun 22 Sep Sunday Roaster

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £4

Residents Garry and Andrew incite more mayhem than should really be allowed on the Sabbath, taking in chart anthems, mash-ups and requests. Renegade

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Rock, metal and punk playlists all night long, selected by yer man DJ Mythic. Open Sundays

Shed, 22:30–03:00, Free (£3 after 12)

The Shed open their doors on the day of the Lord for their messy weekend-extender of a night. Free entry before midnight. Nervo

The Arches, 22:00–03:00, £20

The Australian sister duo (aka Mim and Liv Nervo) play a headline set, matching big melodic hooks with unashamedly dirty beats. Violent Sweat

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

New free Sunday party night deigned to make y’all sweat – violently – to a mix of disco, nu-disco and house.

Sub Rosa

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4)

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Ray Vose and Desoto at the helm. So Weit So Good

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

One-off free party featuring the party sounds of Ean, Smiddy and Kenny White on decks. Musique Boutique

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

BEAST Wednesdays

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Midweek rammy of pop punk, hardcore and deadly slushy drinks.

Thu 26 Sep Counterfeit

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Full-on mix of nu-metal and hard rockin’ tunes with DJs Mythic and Div.

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Rubix returns to Liverpool, this time inviting Be As One label boss and tehcno pioneer, Shlomi Aber for a night of house and tech house. Neverland

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Themed night with a live Twitter feed and a bouncy castle for added LOLs. Shore

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

Eclectic new party night playing everything from the electronic aquatic funk of Drexciya to the outer-space jazz of Sun Ra. Hip Hop Thursdays

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £3

Early weekend party starter, with Euan Neilson playing the best in classic R’n’B and hip-hop. Different Drum (Vitamins)

Saint Judes, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 after 12)

The forward-thinking new Saint Judes weekly round off their launch month with the boys behind one of Glasgow’s most exciting and constantly developing teams, Vitamins. R.U.IN Thursdays: The Simpsons Party

Cathouse, 23:00–04:00, £4 (£2)

Fri 27 Sep Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

The Hot Club

Andy R plays chart hits and requests past and present, while DJ David Lo Pan holes up in The Attic playing retro classics.

Tearin’ it up with 60s psych-outs and modern sleaze, provided by Rafla and Andy (of The Phantom Band).

Tue 24 Sep

Classic Grand, 23:00–03:00, £6

TV Tuesday

The Garage, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

Weekly Tuesday party playing a selection of dancefloor-friendly anthems.

Jamming Fridays

Maggie May’s, 22:00–03:00, Free (£5/£3 student after 12)

Indie rock’n’roll from the 60s to the 00s, with resident tune-picker DJ Jopez. Shake Appeal

Bloc+, 23:00–03:00, Free (£2 after 12)

Flash Mob

The Flash Mob mob lot host a night of disco, techno and house, joined by Radio 1xtra’s Monki, plus support from locals Ryan Martin (of All Caps) and resident Vandelay. The Shed Fridays

Shed, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£4)

Pop and chart hits with Andy Robertson in the main room, plus DJ Del playing the ol’ hippity-hop in the Red Room. The Mess Around

Blackfriars Basement, 23:00–03:00, Free

The Berkeley Suite, 23:00–03:00, £8

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Duncan Harvey plays a mix of vintage rock ‘n’ roll, sleazy R’n’B, swing, soul, surf and pop from a bygone age.

Mixed bag of indie and chart classics across four rooms, plus karaoke shenanigans.

Rubix

Chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £3

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, Free

Booty Call

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

All-new Friday party, with resident Duncan Harvey playing the best in vintage r’n’b, rock’n’roll, soul, funk, rockabilly and swing. That do you?

Jellybaby

Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul.

Voodoo Voodoo

The Admiral, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£7/£5 student after 12)

Deadly Rhythm

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £3 adv. (£5 door)

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

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

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

More ear-exercising house and techno from the Deadly Rhythm troublemakers.

Saint Judes, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Disco Riot

Old Skool

Killer Kitsch

Members of Glasgow’s posthardcore noise-masters, United Fruit, curate their lively monthly event of big-beat alternative indie.

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Disco-styled party night with Alfredo Crolla spinning a selection of favourites, bolstered by karaoke and popcorn stalls, just cos.

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/Free with wage slip)

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Clubber’s delight dedicated to all-Swedish indie, pop and rock – moving from ABBA through to The Knife.

Damn fine evening of hip shakers and neck breakers, combining everything from Buddy Holly to Motorhead.

Mon 23 Sep

Space Invader

Teenage Riot Bloc+, 23:00–03:00, Free (£2 after 12)

Midweek party night with resident Bobby Bluebell playing classic house only.

The Cathouse host a themed Simpsons bash, with prizes for the best dressed.

Burn

Super Trouper The Flying Duck, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Damnation

Richard Fearless

One half of Death in Vegas, Richard Fearless, pays another visit to The Berkeley Suite – never failing to unearth some new sounds. G.B.S (Perseus Traxx)

La Cheetah Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (first 50 go free)

York-based DJ and producer Perseus Traxx pops in to share some stripped-down electronic soul with the G.B.S. Faithful.

Pressure: Opening Party (Chris Liebing + Pan-Pot + Slam + Levon Vincent + Heidi + Jackmaster + Clouds) The Arches, 23:00–05:00, £18 adv.

After a four month summer break, deep house and techno spectacular – Pressure – returns to The Arches with a suitably beefty line-up, including Chris Liebing, Heidi and the Slam boys.

Sat 28 Sep Nu Skool

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

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

Classic Grand, 22:30–03:00, £6

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

Maggie May’s, 22:00–03:00, Free (£5/£3 student after 12)

Rock, indie and golden indie classics with resident DJ Heather McCartney. Love Music

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, Free (£5 after 11.30)

Saturday night disco with Gerry Lyons and guests. Rip This Joint

Slouch, 23:00–03:00, Free

DJ Jopez plays a choice selection of indie, rock, blues and funk. I Heart Garage Saturdays

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

DIVINE!

Stellar mix of classic and rare 60s and 70s psych, soul, freakbeat, ska and funk dug deep from Andrew Divine’s vinyl archives. Erick Morillo

The Arches, 22:00–03:00, £24 earlybird

Subliminal head honcho and house music legend Erick Morillo returns to Scotland for his first show in an age (aka six years). Accents (Taneli)

The Faktory, 22:00–03:00, £5 (£6 after 12)

The Accents crew let Taneli and his renowned house antics take centre stage for the evening, with support from residents RJay Murphy and Russ T Vibes. Julio Bashmore

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £12

One of the biggest and best new names on the UK house music scene (erm, that’d be Julio Bashmore) takes to the road for his autumn/ winter 2013 tour. Casual Encounters

Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, 23:30–03:00, £3

All-new eclectic night hosted by new multimedia DJ collective Casual Encounters, playing tracks from across the spectrum of old school disco, house, funk and garage. Drop the Bomb

Blackfriars Basement, 23:00–03:00, £3

Bass Warrior Sound System spin a mix of reggae, dancehall and soca, jollied along by live MCs and guest DJs. Cathouse Saturdays: Pirate Party

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

The Cathouse host a themed Pirate bash, with prizes for the best dressed. #notsosilent: 1st Birthday (Prosumer + Tama Sumo) La Cheetah Club, 23:00–03:00, £10

The #notsosilent crew celebrate their 1st birthday, with veteran selector Prosumer playing backto-back vinyl selections with Berghain and Panorama Bar resident, Tama Sumo. Roxy 171: 2nd Birthday

The Roxy 171, 22:00–01:00, Free

Rozy 171 celebrate their second birthday with funky beats spun by the Scratch ‘n’ Sniff DJs.

Sun 29 Sep Slide It In

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£2)

Nicola Walker plays cult rock hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s. Trash and Burn

Classic Grand, 23:00–03:00, £4

Monthly glam trash and sleaze tease party, with guest burlesque performers, magicians and a bit o’ belly dancing. Sunday Roaster

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £4

Residents Garry and Andrew incite more mayhem than should really be allowed on the Sabbath, taking in chart anthems, mash-ups and requests. Renegade

Cathouse, 23:00–03:00, £2 (£1)

Rock, metal and punk playlists all night long, selected by yer man DJ Mythic. Sensu

Sub Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Barry Price and Junior provide the cutting edge electonic from across the globe, with a guest or two likely in tow. Open Sundays

Shed, 22:30–03:00, Free (£3 after 12)

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

Student superclub playing everything from hip-hop to dance and funk to chart.

The Shed open their doors on the day of the Lord for their messy weekend-extender of a night. Free entry before midnight.

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

The Flying Duck, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Mon 30 Sep

Propaganda

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

Cathouse, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Residents night of rock, metal, punk and emo over two levels. Badseed

Slouch, 23:00–03:00, Free

Badass mix of indie, rock and electro with DJ Heather McCartney.

Houndin’ The Streets

Resident DJs Jer Reid, Martin Law and guests play music from, and some music inspired by, 1970s and early 80s NYC. The Shed Saturdays

Shed, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£5)

Frothy weekend mix of commercial pop and cheese classics, plus DJ Del playing the ol’ hippity-hop in the Red Room.

Burn

Buff Club, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/Free with wage slip)

Long-running trade night with Normski, Zeus and Mash spinning disco beats. Space Invader

The Garage, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Andy R plays chart hits and requests past and present, while DJ David Lo Pan holes up in The Attic playing retro classics.

THE SKINNY

Edinburgh Clubs Tue 03 Sep Antics

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie and punk. Soul Jam Hot

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Fresh mix of funk, soul and boogie from The Players Association team. Hector’s House

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£5)

Electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats.

Wed 04 Sep Bangers & Mash

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, £1 (£3 after 11)

Midweek student rundown of chart and cheese classics. Witness

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of house, garage and bass adventures. Insomnia

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £3

Budget midweek student night that promises ‘massive tunes’ and free entry for all. STAY GOLD

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

All-new eclectic night brought to you by the folk behind We Own and FLY, with hip-hop classics and soul in one room, and house in the other.

Thu 05 Sep i Am Edinburgh

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £4 (Free via iamclub.co.uk)

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa make their now regular trip east, playing the usual fine mix of house, techno and electronica. Frisky

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Chart, dance and electro fare, plus punter requests all night long. Tease

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £6

Party night of R’n’B, hip-hop and dancehall anthems. Juice

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Pumped Thursday nighter playing a mighty mix of everything from Hud Mo to Fly Mo.

Fri 06 Sep Misfits

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms. Planet Earth

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, Free (£6 after 11)

Distinctly retro selection from 1960 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top. This Is Music

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £3 (members free)

Regular indie and electro outing from the Sick Note DJs.

Unseen Studio 24, 22:30–03:00, Free (£5 after 11)

More stripped-down techno with a back-to-basics warehouse style, with a guest slot from Dan Monox - manager of Rubadub Glasgow by day, notorious industrial techno/ electro gangster by night.

Fun night of chart, cheese and other student favourited party tunes.

Sat 07 Sep

Midweek student rundown of chart and cheese classics.

Tease Age

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, Free (£5 after 11)

Long-running indie, rock and soul night. Bubblegum

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Handpicked weekend mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics as standard.

FLY

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

A powerhouse of local residents take over Cab Vol, joined by a selection of guest talent both local and further flung (aka London).

Picture House: 5th Birthday (2manydjs + JG Wilkes + Count Clockwork) Picture House, 21:00–03:00, £19.50

Edinburgh club promoters Musika take control of the reins for the Picture House’s 5th birthday, playing host to notorious mash-up party starters 2manydjs – who use their agile cut-and-paste mixing to chop up classic party hits from Dolly Parton to 10cc.

September 2013

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of house, garage and bass adventures. Champion Sound

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free (£3 after 12)

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

House specialists Stewart and Steven play, er, some special house. Propaganda

Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £4

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

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £5

The Evol DJs worship at the alter of all kinds of indie-pop, as long as it’s got bite. Pocket Aces (Thunder Disco Club)

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Dance-inducing party with an anything goes attitude and rotating schedule of guest DJs, with TDC making their monthly journey to the capital for a night of discoinfused house. Messenger Sound System

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£7 after 12)

Conscious roots and dub reggae rockin’ from the usual beefty soundsystem. Illusion Edinburgh (Hector)

The Annexe, 22:00–03:00, £8 earlybird (£10 thereafter)

A few month’s after their first birthday bash in the same venue, the Illusion Edinburgh lot welcome rising young producer Hector to their lair – skillfully balancing his will to experiment with commitment to the founding spirit of house. Full On: 1st Birthday

The Liquid Room, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

The Full On gang host a good ol’ knees up to celebrate their first birthday, with guests including Stevie Wilson, David Grant, Craig Brogan and a guest headliner being kept under wraps for now.

Sun 08 Sep The Sunday Club

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Mon 09 Sep

The Bad Robot party lot invade once more, armed with an intergalactic mash-up of electro party tunes.

Witness

Playdate

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, Free (£5 after 12

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Bangers & Mash

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, £1 (£3 after 11)

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £3 (members free)

Pop Tarts

Bad Robot

Wed 11 Sep

Midweek celebration of all things dub, jungle, reggae and dancehall.

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of.

Pop and rock gems, taking in motown, 80s classics and plenty danceable fare (well, the Beep Beep, Yeah! crew are on decks after all).

CCTV The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, Free (£4 after 12)

Mixed Up

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Request-driven night of pop-punk, chart, indie and good ol’ 90s classics. Nu Fire

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

DJ Fusion and Beef move from hip-hop to dubstep with a plethora of live MCs.

Tue 10 Sep Antics

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie and punk. I Love Hip-Hop

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £2

Selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be. Hector’s House

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£5)

Electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats. Soul Jam Hot (DJ Cheeba)

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Fresh mix of funk, soul and boogie from The Players Association team, joined on the night by their first ever guest in four years of party throwing – Solid Steel newbie, and master of turntablism and video manipulation, DJ Cheeba.

STAY GOLD

All-new eclectic night brought to you by the folk behind We Own and FLY, with hip-hop classics and soul in one room, and house in the other. Tribe

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4)

Brand new night manned by residents Khalid Count Clockwork and Craig Wilson.

Thu 12 Sep Frisky

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Chart, dance and electro fare, plus punter requests all night long. Tease

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Party night of R’n’B, hip-hop and dancehall anthems. Juice (Addison Groove)

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £3 (members free)

Pumped Thursday nighter playing a mighty mix of everything from Hud Mo to Fly Mo, this edition joined by Bristol bass wizard Addison Groove. i AM Edinburgh: 3rd Birthday

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa make their now regular trip east, this week celebrating their third birthday in style – with electronic chap Nathan Fake making a return appearance at the club.

Fri 13 Sep Misfits

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms. Planet Earth

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, Free (£6 after 11)

Distinctly retro selection from 1960 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top. Propaganda

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, 5 (£4)

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

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Heavy jungle and bass-styled beats from the inimitable Xplicit crew and guests. Pop Tarts

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, Free (£5 after 12

Pop and rock gems, taking in motown, 80s classics and plenty danceable fare (well, the Beep Beep, Yeah! crew are on decks after all). Etiket

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £3 (members free)

The Etiket residents celebrate their new residency at Sneaky’s, playing the very best in authentic house. FLY

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

A powerhouse of local residents take over Cab Vol, joined by a selection of guest talent both local and further flung (aka London). Quarry

The Voodoo Rooms, 21:00–01:00, £4 adv.

Morrissey/The Smith tribute club, playing a best of soundtrack accompanied by projected visuals.

Sat 14 Sep Tease Age

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, Free (£5 after 11)

Long-running indie, rock and soul night. The Egg

Wee Red Bar, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 after 12)

Art School institution with DJs Chris and Paul playing the finest in indie, garage, soul and punk. Bass Syndicate

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £3 (members free)

The regular Edinburgh breaks and bassline Manga crew takeover. Mumbo Jumbo

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Conscious roots and dub reggae rockin’ from the usual beefed-up soundsystem. Bubblegum

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Handpicked weekend mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics as standard. Propaganda

Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £4

Student-orientated night playing the best in new and classic indie music. Dr No’s

Henry’s Cellar, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£5 after 12)

Danceable mix of the best in 60s ska, rocksteady, bluebeat and reggae. Republik

STAY GOLD

Wasabi Disco

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

All-new eclectic night brought to you by the folk behind We Own and FLY, with hip-hop classics and soul in one room, and house in the other.

Heady bout of cosmic house, punk upside-down disco and, er, Fleetwood Mac with yer man Kris ‘Wasabi’ Walker.

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, 4 (£5)

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £4 (£5 after 12)

Tribe

Brand new night manned by residents Khalid Count Clockwork and Craig Wilson.

Thu 19 Sep i Am Edinburgh

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £4 (Free via iamclub.co.uk)

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa make their now regular trip east, playing the usual fine mix of house, techno and electronica. Frisky

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Chart, dance and electro fare, plus punter requests all night long. Tease

Beep Beep, Yeah!: 4th Birthday, Part II

Retro pop stylings from the 50s to the 70s, via a disco tune of ten, with this edition marking four years of retro lovin’.

Sun 15 Sep The Sunday Club

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of.

Mon 16 Sep Mixed Up

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Request-driven night of pop-punk, chart, indie and good ol’ 90s classics. Nu Fire

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

DJ Fusion and Beef move from hip-hop to dubstep with a plethora of live MCs.

Tue 17 Sep Antics

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie and punk. Soul Jam Hot

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Fresh mix of funk, soul and boogie from The Players Association team. I Love Hip-Hop

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £2

Pumped Thursday nighter playing a mighty mix of everything from Hud Mo to Fly Mo, this edition joined by the synth waves and crisp beats of Stay+.

Fri 20 Sep Misfits

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Four Corners

Soulful dancing fodder, from deep funk to reggae beats with your regular DJ hosts. Planet Earth

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, Free (£6 after 11)

Distinctly retro selection from 1960 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top. Propaganda

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4)

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

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, Free (£5 after 12

Pop and rock gems, taking in motown, 80s classics and plenty danceable fare (well, the Beep Beep, Yeah! crew are on decks after all). FLY

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

A powerhouse of local residents take over Cab Vol, joined by a selection of guest talent both local and further flung (aka London). 4x4 (Rendezvoodoo + Jasck Of Diamond + Krown3 + Strut) Henry’s Cellar, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£4 after 12)

Two-fold night of hip-hop and breaks (11pm-2am) followed by doof-doof techno (2am-5am). Bixon (DJ October)

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £5 (members free)

Hip young party collective Bixon welcome Dutch-born, Bristol and Berlin-residing DJ October, fusing house, techno and dub as only he knows how.

Selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be.

Sat 21 Sep

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£5)

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, Free (£5 after 11)

Hector’s House

Electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats. CCTV

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £11

Fun night of chart, cheese and other student favourited party tunes.

Wed 18 Sep Bangers & Mash

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, £1 (£3 after 11)

Midweek student rundown of chart and cheese classics. Witness

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of house, garage and bass adventures.

Tease Age

Long-running indie, rock and soul night. The Egg

Wee Red Bar, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 after 12)

Art School institution with DJs Chris and Paul playing the finest in indie, garage, soul and punk. Bubblegum

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Handpicked weekend mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics as standard. Propaganda

The Sunday Club

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of.

Mon 23 Sep Mixed Up

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Request-driven night of pop-punk, chart, indie and good ol’ 90s classics. Nu Fire

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

DJ Fusion and Beef move from hip-hop to dubstep with a plethora of live MCs.

Tue 24 Sep Antics

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Alternative anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie and punk. Soul Jam Hot

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Fresh mix of funk, soul and boogie from The Players Association team. I Love Hip-Hop

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £2

Mighty mix of reggae, grime, dubstep and jungle, with residents Era and Deburgh.

Distinctly retro selection from 1960 to 1999, moving from Abba to ZZ Top. Confusion is Sex

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5 in costume)

Glam techno and electro night, this time with a Eurotrash theme. Propaganda

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4)

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

Henry’s Cellar, 23:00–03:00, £5

A cast of players take care of all your hardtek and breakcore needs, with full UV decor and glowstick action. Pop Tarts

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, Free (£5 after 12

Pop and rock gems, taking in motown, 80s classics and plenty danceable fare (well, the Beep Beep, Yeah! crew are on decks after all). FLY

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

A powerhouse of local residents take over Cab Vol, joined by a selection of guest talent both local and further flung (aka London). Mjölk

Wee Red Bar, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£4 after 11.30)

Occasional night playing the finest in Swedish indie pop, plus 60s, 70s and independent tunes from near and far. #notsosilent: 1st Birthday Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £5 (members free)

The #notsosilent crew celebrate their 1st birthday, with resident Belch proving why he’s one of the city’s best performers in underground house and disco. Samson Sounds

The Banshee Labyrinth, 23:00–03:00, £4

Sat 28 Sep

CCTV

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £3

Fun night of chart, cheese and other student favourited party tunes.

Wed 25 Sep Bangers & Mash

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, £1 (£3 after 11)

Midweek student rundown of chart and cheese classics. Witness

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

Sneaky’s resident bass spectacular of house, garage and bass adventures. Champion Sound

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free (£3 after 12)

Midweek celebration of all things dub, jungle, reggae and dancehall. STAY GOLD

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

All-new eclectic night brought to you by the folk behind We Own and FLY, with hip-hop classics and soul in one room, and house in the other. Tribe

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£3)

Brand new night manned by residents Khalid Count Clockwork and Craig Wilson.

Thu 26 Sep Frisky

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Chart, dance and electro fare, plus punter requests all night long. Tease

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Party night of R’n’B, hip-hop and dancehall anthems.

Big ‘N’ Bashy

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £tbc

Planet Earth

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, Free (£6 after 11)

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£5)

Electronic basslines allied with home-cooked house beats.

Juice

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, Free (£3 after 12)

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms.

Reggae, dub and jungle night.

Hector’s House

Pumped Thursday nighter playing a mighty mix of everything from Hud Mo to Fly Mo.

Champion Sound

Misfits

Selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be.

Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £4

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

Midweek celebration of all things dub, jungle, reggae and dancehall.

Tribe

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, 4 (£5)

Sun 22 Sep

Pocket Aces (Craig Smith)

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £4 (£5 after 12)

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Dance-inducing party night, with GDM’s Cheap Picasso making their monthly appearance armed with classic Italo, straight-up boogie, contemporary house and disco.

Juice (Stay+)

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 after 12)

Dance-inducing party night, with Craig Smith making his monthly appearance rich with deep, soulful house sounds.

Pocket Aces (Gasoline Dance Machine)

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Party night of R’n’B, hip-hop and dancehall anthems.

Chart, electro, indie-pop and alternative anthems over two rooms.

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Pop and rock gems, taking in motown, 80s classics and plenty danceable fare (well, the Beep Beep, Yeah! crew are on decks after all).

Brand new night manned by residents Khalid Count Clockwork and Craig Wilson.

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £10 (£8)

Themed night of hard dance retro classics, playing all night long.

Pop Rocks!

Fri 27 Sep

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

i AM Edinburgh (Levon Vincent)

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£3)

Tease Age

Citrus Club, 22:30–03:00, Free (£5 after 11)

Long-running indie, rock and soul night. The Egg

Wee Red Bar, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 after 12)

Art School institution with DJs Chris and Paul playing the finest in indie, garage, soul and punk. Bubblegum

The Hive, 21:00–03:00, Free (£4 after 10)

Handpicked weekend mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics as standard. Magic Nostalgic

Electric Circus, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£7 after 12)

A hodgepodge of quality tracks chosen by JP’s spinning wheel. Expect anything from 90s rave to power ballads, and a whole lotta one-hit wonders. Ride

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, £3 (members free)

The Ride girls play hip-hop and dance, all night long – now in their new party-ready Saturday night slot. Propaganda

Picture House, 23:00–03:00, £4

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

The Bongo Club, 23:00–03:00, £5

Project2: Launch party The Dram House, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 after 12)

Project2’s opening party sees Glasgow’s trio Shaka, Edinburgh’s Motherchip and residents Goatboy, Gooch and Lewis Bergen bringing a whole lotta funky stuff to the newly opened Dram House.

Nightfilm: Launch Party (Horsemeat Disco + Mighty Mouse + Le Visiteur + Kipp$ + Martin Valentine + Steven Wanless)

Cabaret Voltaire, 23:00–03:00, £7 adv.

Following on from the sell-out party in London last month, Nightfilm – the musical hub and record label brainchild of Mighty Mouse and Matt Van Schie – launches its all-new Edinburgh residency, manned by a plethora of hot talent.

Sun 29 Sep The Sunday Club

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of. Julio Bashmore

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £12 adv.

One of the biggest and best new names on the UK house music scene (erm, that’d be Julio Bashmore) takes to the road for his autumn/ winter 2013 tour.

Mon 30 Sep Mixed Up

The Hive, 22:00–03:00, Free

Request-driven night of pop-punk, chart, indie and good ol’ 90s classics. Nu Fire

Sneaky Pete’s, 23:00–03:00, Free

DJ Fusion and Beef move from hip-hop to dubstep with a plethora of live MCs.

Dundee Music Thu 05 Sep

Dixie Fried (KillingFloor)

20 Rocks, 20:00–23:00, Free

Upbeat hypnotic blues rock played out by two Scottish dudes.

Fri 06 Sep

Buffalo Soldiers (Blackbird)

20 Rocks, 20:00–23:00, Free

Taking their name from the song Buffalo Soldiers by the great man himself (aka Bob Marley), the Huddersfield trio play some of his classics along with other early reggae, rocksteady and Jamaican ska. Contour

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £tbc

More fresh beats and flashy visuals from the Contour crew, featuring sets from Slouch, Slice and Gmiller.

Sat 07 Sep

Autodisco (Beaten Space Probe)

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £6

Electro-funk, house and disco with your regular hosts Dave Autodisco and Dicky Trisco, plus special guest from the Tokyo underground scene, Beaten Space Probe, making his UK debut. Vladimir (King Louie + Naked + KillingFloor)

Beat Generator Live!, 20:00–23:00, £4 adv. (£5 door)

Noisy indie-rock ensemble from Dundee, playing their first ever full-length headline show. Ticket includes free entry to the Bornwina and The Psychotic Reaction DJs-hosted after-party.

Sun 08 Sep

Athletes in Paris (Nova)

20 Rocks, 20:00–23:00, Free

Swinging soul spanning a whole century, with DJs Tsatsu and Fryer.

Danceable indie-pop from the southeast, sung in a defiantly broad Sunderland accent.

The Liquid Room, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£5)

Thu 12 Sep

Madchester

Monthly favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like. Dr No’s

Henry’s Cellar, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£5 before 12)

Danceable mix of the best in 60s ska, rocksteady, bluebeat and reggae.

Our For Tomorrow (Social Assassin + Melophobia)

Beat Generator Live!, 19:30–22:00, £5 adv.

Collaborative rock quintet known for their hard-hitting progressive soundscapes.

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa make their now regular trip east, joined by NY resident Levon Vincent spinning a three-hour set of techno-heavy beats.

Listings

Sat 14 Sep

Electrode: 6th Birthday (Jeremy Olander) Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £tbc

Helping celebrate six years of Electrode, Swedish electronic specialist Jeremy Olander joins regulars Kev Taylor and Billy Morris for a return guest set. Led Astray

Beat Generator Live!, 20:00–23:00, £7

Led Zeppelin tribute act.

Nilk at the Botanics (Golden Teacher + The Guild of Calamitous Intent + Samoyed + theapplesofenergy + Stefan Blomeier and Claire + Il Discotto’s Italo Gelateria) University of Dundee, 15:00–22:30, £6 adv. (£8 door)

Nilk returns for 2013, with various experimental locals taking to the University of Dundee’s Botanic Garden – amongst ‘em Silk Cut and Ultimate Thrush collab, Golden Teacher, and Denmark’s Stefan Blomeier and Claire, merging sequencer work with drums.

Fri 20 Sep HEADWAY

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £tbc

September residents special with Andy Barton, Graeme Binnie, Neil Clark and Bruce Anderson.

Arliss Nancy (The Barents Sea + Robot Doctors + Davey Nolan) Kage, 19:30–22:00, £6

Soulful, whiskey-drenched Colorado country blues ensemble with a DIY punk rock spirit, heading back to Dundee for the second time this year.

Sat 21 Sep

Human Is Not Alone (Fat Goth + United Fruit + Vasquez + Hey Enemy) Non-Zero’s, 19:30–22:00, £6

20 Rocks, 20:00–23:00, Free

Dundee-based rock’n’blues covers trio. Locarno

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £tbc

Rockabilly, doo-wop, soul and all things golden age and danceable with the Locarno regulars. Secret Affair (Target 5)

Beat Generator Live!, 20:00–23:00, £15

Rock, soul and Mod revival act formed way back in 1978 from their previous incarnation as New Hearts.

Wed 25 Sep

Gloryhammer (Darkest Era + Dendera)

20 Rocks, 20:00–23:00, £10 adv. (£12 door)

Heroic fantasy power metal five-piece, exploring the more symphonic side of metal.

Thu 26 Sep

Culann (Kings and Cowards + PanicByFlare)

20 Rocks, 20:00–23:00, Free

Irvine-based rock quintet who’ve christened themselves as ‘folkressive’. Pretty much sums ‘em up.

Fri 27 Sep Pilgrims Carnival

20 Rocks, 20:00–23:00, £5

The Dundee-based indie quartet launch their new EP with a hometown show down’t 20 Rocks. Bleep

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £tbc

Ear-bleeding electronic beats ‘n’ bleeps from the residents, joined by a selection of local talents – this time in the form of Teddy Hannah, WeAreNotRobots and Mutchie & Munro.

Sat 28 Sep The Book Club

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £tbc

Selection of DJs on rotation all night, covering genres of electro, disco, techno and anything else they damn well fancy.

Make-That-A-Take Records: Mini Fest (Great Cynics + The Smith Street Band + The Murderburgers + Carson Wells + The Shithawks + The Walking Targets) Kage, 18:00–23:00, £8

DIY, punk-styled east coast of Scotland collective – Make-Thata-Take Records – host their very own mini fest, featuring a string of punk and rock bands, various stalls and a mixtape/CD swapbox. Hordes of Belial Festival (De Profundis + Thrashist Regime + Sound Over Silence + Threshold Sicks + Beckon)

Beat Generator Live!, 17:30–23:00, £10

Returning for its fourth year, the one-day noise fest that is Hordes Of Belial Festival welcome a selection of bands of the underground metal and hard rock persuasion. You do the moshing.

Sun 29 Sep

Blue Rose Code (Stranger’s Almanac)

20 Rocks, 20:00–23:00, Free

London post-folk musician big on the Celtic lullabies and Caledonian soul.

Dundee Clubs Wed 04 Sep Co2

Fat Sam’s, 23:00–02:30, £3.50

Messy student midweeker of party tunes and five quid fish bowls.

Fri 06 Sep House Party

Fat Sam’s, 20:00–03:00, £8

Fun Friday nighter soundtracked by big party tunes and punter requests.

Sat 07 Sep Headroom

20 Rocks, 20:00–02:30, Free (£3.50 after 12)

Saturday night mix of modern tracks and older classics, moving from U2 to Pink Floyd. Fat Sam’s Saturdays

Fat Sam’s, 21:00–03:00, £6

Massive Saturday night party spreading its wares over three floors and no less than six rooms, with Ricky H spanning dance, house, r’n’b and hip-hop selections. Asylum

Kage, 23:00–02:30, £4

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative tunes.

Wed 11 Sep I Heart Project X

20 Rocks, 20:00–02:30, £4

All-new student night themed around the film of the same name, Project X. Co2

Fat Sam’s, 23:00–02:30, £3.50

Messy student midweeker of party tunes and five quid fish bowls.

Fri 13 Sep House Party

Fat Sam’s, 20:00–03:00, £8

Fun Friday nighter soundtracked by big party tunes and punter requests. Kaos

Kage, 23:00–02:30, £4

New night exploring new music and the bands that inspired them, and the bands that in turn inspired them... And so on for eternity.

Sat 14 Sep

Fat Sam’s Saturdays

Fat Sam’s, 21:00–03:00, £6

Massive Saturday night party spreading its wares over three floors and no less than six rooms, with Ricky H spanning dance, house, r’n’b and hip-hop selections. Benji Webbe

Kage, 23:00–02:30, £6 adv. (£8 door)

Kage play host to a one-off Saturday night DJ set from Skindred’s Benji Webbe, likely whipping up another manic frenzy as per his guest set last year.

Wed 18 Sep I Heart The Hangover

20 Rocks, 20:00–02:30, £4

All-new student night themed around the film of the same name, The Hangover.

Listings

Co2 Fat Sam’s, 23:00–02:30, £3.50

Messy student midweeker of party tunes and five quid fish bowls.

Fri 20 Sep Projeckt House

20 Rocks, 20:00–02:30, Free (£3.50 after 12)

Expect the usual house music galore from DJs John Devlin and Bob Scott, as they relaunch the Projeckt House night. HEADWAY

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £tbc

September residents special with Andy Barton, Graeme Binnie, Neil Clark and Bruce Anderson. House Party

Fat Sam’s, 20:00–03:00, £8

Fun Friday nighter soundtracked by big party tunes and punter requests. Gorilla In Your Car

Kage, 23:00–02:30, £4

Hardcore, emo, punk and scenester selections. Also perhaps the best-named club night in Dundee’s existence.

Sat 21 Sep Locarno

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £tbc

Rockabilly, doo-wop, soul and all things golden age and danceable with the Locarno regulars. Fat Sam’s Saturdays

Fat Sam’s, 21:00–03:00, £6

Massive Saturday night party spreading its wares over three floors and no less than six rooms, with Ricky H spanning dance, house, r’n’b and hip-hop selections. Asylum

Kage, 23:00–02:30, £4

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative tunes.

Wed 25 Sep Co2

Fat Sam’s, 23:00–02:30, £3.50

Messy student midweeker of party tunes and five quid fish bowls.

Fri 27 Sep Bleep

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £tbc

Ear-bleeding electronic beats ‘n’ bleeps from the residents, joined by a selection of local talents – this time in the form of Teddy Hannah, WeAreNotRobots and Mutchie & Munro. House Party

Fat Sam’s, 20:00–03:00, £8

Fun Friday nighter soundtracked by big party tunes and punter requests. Get The Funk Out

Kage, 23:00–03:00, £4

One-off night of funk songs and its various offshoots: hip-hop, rap, ska and the like. And they will play Beastie Boys, so all is well with the world.

Sat 28 Sep The Book Club

Reading Rooms, 22:30–02:30, £tbc

Selection of DJs on rotation all night, covering genres of electro, disco, techno and anything else they damn well fancy. Fat Sam’s Saturdays

Fat Sam’s, 21:00–03:00, £6

Massive Saturday night party spreading its wares over three floors and no less than six rooms, with Ricky H spanning dance, house, r’n’b and hip-hop selections. Asylum

Kage, 23:00–02:30, £4

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative tunes.

Glasgow

Theatre Oran Mor

A Play, A Pie And A Pint

various dates between 1 Jul and 30 Sep, 1:00pm – 1:45pm, From £8

Afternoon session showcasing new work from a selection of talented playwrights, plus a pie and a pint, naturally. See oran-mor.co.uk for schedule details.

Paisley Arts Centre

If These Spasms Could Speak

various dates between 31 Jul and 24 Sep, times vary, prices vary

Solo performance by Robert Softley (co-creator of National Theatre of Scotland’s thought-provoking Girl X) based on a collection of funny, sad, touching and oftsurprising stories about disabled people and their bodies.

The Arches

I’m Gay and You’re Still Dying

28 Sep, 2:30pm – 3:30pm, £8 (£6)

Solo performance by Freya Gosnald which explores and exposes rape as a social pandemic. Part of Arches Live. Land’s End

17–18 Sep, 6:30pm – 7:30pm, £8 (£6)

The story of one man – let’s call him Tom Hobbins, for that’s his name – who decided to get off his arse and do something, namely cycling the 874 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats. Part of Arches Live. Songs of Scotland

17–18 Sep, times vary, Free

New musical piece in which performance artist Eilidh MacAskill (accompanied by the Arches Community Choir) sings her way through the thorny issues of independence. Part of Arches Live. Sortition

17–18 Sep, 8:00pm – 9:00pm, £8 (£6)

Adam Scarborough explores freedom, power and control through direct action in a live audience debate – part manifesto, part forum-theatre. Part of Arches Live. One Day This Will Be Long Ago

17–18 Sep, times vary, £8 (£6)

Brand new fifteen minute opera from emerging Glasgow-based company Opera Breve, in which two voices attempt to untangle themselves from each other and transverse the tumultuous terrain between union and separation. Part of Arches Live. Cuff

17–18 Sep, 8:00pm – 9:00pm, £8 (£6)

New show exploring activism, protest and resistance, in which double act Deb Jones and Alison Peebles take the audience on a surreal adventure of anecdote and action to right some historical wrongs. Part of Arches Live. I-HAPPY-I-GOOD

17–18 Sep, 6:00pm – 7:00pm, £8 (£6)

Intimate piece about deafblindness, exploring the problems faced by the oft-marginalised group – but also aiming to reveal some of the wonders of darkness and silence. Part of Arches Live. Between Atoms and the Stars

17–18 Sep, 9:30pm – 10:30pm, £8 (£6)

Performance piece based around plane crashes and exploding rockets, as Steve Slater attempts to explore space, art, science and wonder in, ooh, about 60 minutes. Part of Arches Live. Ultraviolet Catastrophe

Citizens Theatre Crime and Punishment

various dates between 5 Sep and 28 Sep, times vary, prices vary

Chris Hannan’s new stage adaption of Dostoyevsky’s iconic novel, told with a raw energy and bold conviction intended to shine new light on its relevance to today’s world of corruption and crime.

Cottiers Theatre Avenue Q

various dates between 7 Feb and 21 Sep, times vary, £13

Singalong tale of a New York street populated by an unholy comedic alliance of humans and puppets.

25–26 Sep, 6:00pm – 7:00pm, £8 (£6)

Multi-sensory tour of The Arches by Glasgow-based poet and performer Leo Glaister – presenting the venue as you might find it in a parallel dimension, using experimental technology on loan from Doubtful Science Inc. laboratories. Part of Arches Live. He’s The Greatest Dancer

25–26 Sep, 7:30pm – 8:30pm, £8 (£6)

Danceable piece of joy from Ian Johnston, Gary Gardiner and Adrian Howells, based on Ian and Gary’s uninhibited love to dance anywhere, and at any time. Part of Arches Live.

Every Pound’s a Prisoner! 25–26 Sep, 9:00pm – 10:00pm, £8 (£6)

Calum MacAskill presents an improv performance coloured with a random collection of objects available from his local Poundland, with a price limit of £49.99 allocated to props and materials. Part of Arches Live. Sister

25–26 Sep, 9:00pm – 10:00pm, £8 (£6)

Performative exploration of female sexuality, told via two sisters – one who works in the sex industry, and one a lesbian with a shaved head – both feminists. Part of Arches Live. I Do, Do I

25–26 Sep, 6:00pm – 7:00pm, £8 (£6)

Series of Fluxus-inspired Instruction Scores written by children and performed by musician and awardwinning performance maker Greg Sinclair. Part of Arches Live. NICE: Opening Ceremony

28 Sep, 10:00am – 3:30pm, Free

The Old Hairdressers Rewrite

3–4 Sep, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, £7 (£5)

New play by Anna Blainey about celebrity, relationships and the struggle to separate fantasy and reality.

The Pavilion Theatre I, Tommy

various dates between 3 Aug and 21 Sep, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £20 (£18)

Expect fluffy handcuffs, lies and swingers clubs in this imaginative and irreverent reinvention of Tommy Sheridan’s escapades. The Johnny Cash Story

13 Sep, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £16 .50 (£14.50)

Roger Dean plays tribute to the country music legend. That’ll Be The Day

Rock’n’roll variety show crammed with musical favourites from the 50s, 60s and 70s (i.e. you WILL singalong to Buddy Holly).

Theatre Royal Dunsinane

10–14 Sep, times vary, From £10

25–26 Sep, 6:00pm – 7:00pm, £8 (£6)

26–28 Sep, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, From £17

Peter Lannon and Emma Nutland test their friendship in this noholds-barred live performance, looking at the human need to laugh at each other’s expense. Part of Arches Live. Panorama

28 Sep, 12:30pm – 1:30pm, £5 (£4)

Debbie Hannon directs an 100-strong community cast in an attempt to capture the extremes, inbetweens and possibilities of who we are, individually and together. Part of Arches Live. Behave

25–26 Sep, times vary, Free

Live reflection on social situations, and what we consider ‘normal’, inspired by photography shot at Govanhill Baths – bringing the images to life with live dance theatre and luminous lighting designs. Part of Arches Live. At Least We Tried

28 Sep, 1:00pm – 2:00pm, £8 (£6)

Inspired performance about setting up and running a ‘protest agency’ during the summer of 2012, for which the agency fulfilled requests from the public to protest on their behalf. Part of Arches Live. Bonny Boys Are Few

25–26 Sep, 7:30pm – 8:30pm, £8 (£6)

Unacknowledged by his dad, writer/performer Michael John O’Neill was raised in a boarding house surrounded by surrogate fathers – this performance is the culmination of an expedition across Ireland reconnecting with these people. Part of Arches Live. Shafted?!

28 Sep, 4:00pm – 5:00pm, £8 (£6)

Daring and unashamedly bold HIV cabaret show, exploring and exposing the realities of HIV in today’s society – for which the audience are asked to come dressed in funeral attire. Part of Arches Live.

The Glad Cafe Mazloom

25–26 Sep, 7:30pm – 8:30pm, £5

Powerful portrait of a young refugee, alone in London, whose life is being torn apart by the prospect of deportation to Afghanistan – told alongside immersive film footage recreating the journey.

The King’s Theatre Cats

various dates between 15 Aug and 28 Sep, times vary, From £12

New adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s favourited production, adapted from T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. And featuring cats. Loadsae human-sized cats.

Harrowing study of abandonment, as a father returns to the two children he put in care ten years earlier. Thread

20–21 Sep, times vary, £10 (£7.50)

Darkly funny play from Scotsman Fringe First winners 2011 and 2012 exploring friendship, the choices we make and who we become when our memories start to fade. I Will Survive

25–27 Sep, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, £10

New musical comedy about how to survive a break up with the help of your girlfriends and the singing of songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s. Deep stuff.

Edinburgh

David Greig’s sequel-of-sorts to Macbeth, providing an exhilarating vision of one man’s attempt to restore peace in a country ravaged by war. Scottish Ballet: The Rite of Spring/Elite Syncopations

Double bill of dance, taking in ballet productions of Christopher Hampson’s The Rite of Spring and Kenneth MacMillan’s Elite Syncopations.

Tramway

Rip It Up: Extremely Bad Dancing to Extremely French Music

14 Sep, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, £6

New collaborative live dance and music performance by choreographer Karl Jay-Lewin and composer Matteo Fargion, comprising of over 50 discretely made piano, dance and text-based solos, edited around strict rhythmic structures. Landscape II

25 Sep, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, £8 (£6)

Bold hybrid of performance, film and sound art from London-based performer, writer and sound artist, Melanie Wilson, telling the tale of three woman separated by hundreds of years who start a conversation across time.

Tron Theatre Romeo and Juliet

various dates between 19 Aug and 28 Sep, times vary, £10 (£7.50)

Bedlam Theatre The Seussification of Romeo and Juliet

9 Sep, 13 Sep, times vary, £3 (£2.50 members)

Modern take on the Shakespearean classic, with Peter Bloedel’s Seussy retelling entirely spoken in rhyming tetrameter. Educating Rita

11 Sep, 2:30pm – 4:30pm, £3 (£2.50 members)

Reworking of Willy Russel’s stage comedy set entirely in the office of an Open University lecturer. Decadence

11 Sep, 5:30pm – 7:30pm, £3 (£2.50 members)

Repression, self-indulgence and lust form the backdrop of acclaimed theatre-practitioner Stephen Berkoff’s dark piece, intent on exposing the hollow humanity of the ‘upper’ classes. The Sentinels

11 Sep, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, £3 (£2.50 members)

On the 12th anniversary of 9/11, Bedlam present Matthew Lopez’s play of remembrance – played out from the point of view of three wives made widows when the planes hit. Silent... But Deadly

12 Sep, 7:30pm – 9:30pm, £3 (£2.50 members)

The team behind last year’s sell-out Bedlam Pantomime host a wordless whodunnit comedy – as in a murder mystery played out in total silence, so shhh. North, Northwest

13 Sep, 7:30pm – 9:30pm, £3 (£2.50 members)

Renowned for their top class Shakespeare adaptations, Bard in the Botanics present their retelling of the great man’s classic tale of star-crossed lovers – this time taking to the indoor setting of Tron Theatre.

Taking a close look at the uncomfortable issue of student radicalisation, this short piece for stage makes a psychological exploration of a young mind with a fanatical world-view – using ‘underwear’ bomber’ Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab as its focus.

various dates between 3 Aug and 7 Sep, times vary, prices vary

14 Sep, 7:30pm – 9:30pm, £3 (£2.50 members)

The List

After a revamped run at the Edinburgh Fringe, femaleonly playwright nurturers Stellar Quines bring The List Glasgow way – with Maureen Beattie playing an isolated woman in rural Quebec establishing order over chaos through obsessive list making. The Events

various dates between 31 Jul and 21 Sep, times vary, prices vary

David Greig’s daring new play looking at how far forgiveness will stretch in the face of atrocity, touching as it goes upon tragedy, obsession and our destructive desire to fathom the unfathomable. The Taking of Zena Charbonne

6–7 Sep, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, £10 (£7.50)

Psychological thriller from The Occasional Cabaret, mixing performance, video and live music into the story of the kidnapping of the wife of Environment Minister, Sir Michael Charbonne. The Collection

10–14 Sep, times vary, From £12 (£8)

Darkly humourous new piece by Scottish playwright Mike Cullen, telling the tale of one of the best debt collectors in the business whose world is suddenly shattered when one of his clients commits suicide.

Thread various dates between 4 Aug and 25 Sep, 7:30pm – 9:00pm, £11.75 (£9.75/£6.75 under 18s)

Darkly funny play from Scotsman Fringe First winners 2011 and 2012 exploring friendship, the choices we make and who we become when our memories start to fade. The Taking of Zena Charbonne

5 Sep, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £11.75 (£9.75/£6.75 under 18s)

6 Sep, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £14 (£12)

New musical by composer David Andrew Wilson and playwright David Hutchinson exploring the troubled life of Wind in the Willows’ author Kenneth Grahame. The Collection

27 Sep, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £20.50 (£18.50)

Durational performance piece for which Louise Ahl – about to start her [fictitious] MA Choreographic Practice at the NICE Institute – will run her first ever marathon, inside The Arches. Part of Arches Live. Punching Woman Coming At You Punchman

Fog 10–12 Sep, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, £10 (£7.50)

Phaedra for Dinner

Intriguing tale of a luxurious dinner party for which five people are sent mysterious invitations requiring them to attend, with only one other instruction: to read and discover. Alarms and Excursions

14 Sep, 9:30pm – 11:30pm, £3 (£2.50 members)

90s comedy by Michael Frayn, taking a light-hearted look at the frustrations and misunderstandings wrought by technology in our modern lives.

Brunton Theatre Betrayal

various dates between 2 Mar and 14 Sep, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £11.75 (£9.75/£6.75 under 18s)

New take on Harold Pinter’s semi-autobiographical work about a woman caught in a love triangle between her husband and his best friend. Feral

1 May, 2 May, 3 May, 11 Sep, 7:00pm – 9:00pm, £6.75

Innovative piece of visual theatre that combines puppetry, film and live sound to create and destroy a miniature world in front of the audiences’ eyes.

19 Sep, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £11.75 (£9.75/£6.75 under 18s)

27 Sep, times vary, £6.75

True story of two fifteen year old girls, Bess Walder and Beth Cumming, who in 1940 spent 19 terrifying hours in the water on an upturned lifeboat.

Edinburgh Playhouse That’ll Be The Day

19 Nov, 12 May, 19 Nov, 9 Apr, 28 Sep, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, From £23

Rock’n’roll variety show crammed with musical favourites from the 50s, 60s and 70s (i.e. you WILL singalong to Buddy Holly). The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy: Radio Show Live!

8 Jun, 9 Jun, 21 Jul, 27 Sep, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, From £19

Douglas Adams’ immortal creation is given a re-invention in the form of a surround-sound radio show, avec robots, naturally. Hairspray

various dates between 22 Apr and 14 Sep, times vary, From £18.50

Toe-tapping musical based on the film by John Waters, following the tale of a girl with big hair and an even bigger heart. The Johnny Cash Story

7 Jun, 17 Sep, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, From £21

Roger Dean plays tribute to the country music legend.

Festival Theatre The Illusionists

28–29 Sep, times vary, From £32.50

A handpicked cast of internationally renowned illusionists come together to play out a series of illusions – moving from levitation to mind-reading – a selection of which have never been seen before. Edinburgh Choreographic Project

10 Sep, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, £11

Inspired choreographic project formed by a group of independent professional dancers, presenting an evening of mesmerising modern dance.

Royal Lyceum Theatre Dark Road

2 Sep, 5 Sep, 9 Sep, 12 Sep, 16 Sep, 2:30pm – 5:00pm, From £14

Newly-commissioned work marking crime writer Ian Rankin’s first foray into stage – with Dark Road telling the story of a retired detective who revisits a case, and a killer, that’s haunted her for the past 25 years.

Summerhall

Only Wolves and Lions

12–14 Sep, times vary, £15 (£10)

Interactive performance piece where the performers and their guests (i.e. you) explore ideas of community, isolation and the meaning of the word crisis, with attendees asked to bring a raw ingredient and join the cook-eatchat flow.

THE SKINNY

Traverse Theatre

MA Classical and Contemporary Text Programme: New Writing

12–14 Sep, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, £6 (£4)

The Directing and Acting students of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s MA Classical and Contemporary Text programme fill a trio of nights, taking in speciallycommissioned new work from Rob Drummond, Catherine Grosvenor and David Ireland. The Collection

20–21 Sep, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £15.50 (£12.50/£8 unemployed)

27–28 Sep, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £15.50 (£12.50/£8 unemployed)

Thor Bjorn Krebs’s provocative, free interpretation of the relationship between a 62-year-old Karen Blixen, writer of Out of Africa, and 29-year-old poet Thorkild Bjornvig – a charged piece which questions and challenges the role and nature of the artist.

Dundee Dundee Rep Victoria

4–21 Sep, not 8, 9, 15, times vary, From £15 (£10)

Scottish playwright David Greig gives his epic three-in-one piece its Scottish debut, charting the story of three generations of rich and poor in the Scottish Highlands, set in 1936, 1976 and 1996 – with each part centred around a woman named ‘Victoria’. Roadkill

20–25 Sep, not 23, times vary, £15

Cora Bissett’s Olivier Award-winning play based on the true story of sex-trafficking in modern-day Scotland, played out in a Dundee apartment. Limited space, leaving from Dundee Rep. Kiss Me Honey, Honey

24 Sep, 7:30pm – 10:00pm, £14 (£12)

New piece by Philip Meeks – writer of last year’s Fringe offering Murder, Marple and Me – about two unlikely friends who set off on a search for the women of their dreams. Eden/Pictures We Make

26 Sep, 8:00pm – 10:00pm, £16 (£13)

Double bill by Company Chameleon, featuring a newly commissioned work by acclaimed choreographic duo Goddard Nixon (Eden) and company founders Anthony Missen and Kevin Edward Turner (Pictures We Make).

The Gardyne Theatre The Liver Birds

4–7 Sep, 7:30pm – 9:30pm, £11

Stage adaptation of the popular TV series, charting the Merseyside adventures of Sandra and Beryl.

Comedy Glasgow Tue 03 Sep Red Raw

Thu 12 Sep

The Thursday Show (Owen O’Neill + Chris McCauseland + Jojo Sutherland + Cameron Davis) The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£7/£5 members)

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Wed 04 Sep

Fri 13 Sep

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Wicked Wenches (Leah Bonnema + Chloe Philip + Ashley Storrie + Sarah Short) The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£3 members)

All-female stand-up extravaganza, with a suitably varied mix of headliners and newcomers taking to the stage each month. New Material Night

Vespbar, 20:00–22:00, £3

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering, yes, all new material.

Thu 05 Sep

The Thursday Show (John Ross + Darren Connell + Hari Sriskantha)

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£7/£5 members)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Fri 06 Sep

The Friday Show (John Ross + Darren Connell + Hari Sriskantha) The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£10/£6 members)

The Friday Show (Owen O’Neill + Chris McCauseland + Jojo Sutherland + Cameron Davis) The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£10/£6 members)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

Sat 14 Sep

The Saturday Show (Owen O’Neill + Chris McCauseland + Jojo Sutherland + Cameron Davis) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

Sun 15 Sep

Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

Chilled Sunday comedy showcase with resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond and guests.

Mon 16 Sep

Tom Stade Totally Rocks!

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £15

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

The shouty Canadian monster that is Tom Stade takes to the road, imbued as per with his refreshingly laid-back and unconventional ethos on life.

Maggie May’s, 19:30–22:00, £6

Tue 17 Sep

Alan Anderson’s Comedy Night

Manc-born comic – and one time Architecture student – Alan Anderson comperes a live comedy showcase evening at Maggie Mays.

Sat 07 Sep

The Saturday Show (John Ross + Darren Connell + Hari Sriskantha) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

Sun 08 Sep

Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

Chilled Sunday comedy showcase with resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond and guests.

Mon 09 Sep Improv Wars

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £4 (£2)

More improvised comedy games and sketches, with an unpredictable anything-goes attitude – just how we like it.

Red Raw

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Fun Junkies

Diverse offerings from the comedy spectrum, featuring stand-up, variety acts, sketches, musical comedy and magicians, natch. New Material Night

Vespbar, 20:00–22:00, £3

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering, yes, all new material.

Mon 23 Sep

Lucy Porter: Northern Soul

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£10)

The Radio 4 regular and TV panel show luminary returns with her all-new stand-up show, drawing on her time spent as an anthropology student and party animal, amongst other things.

Tue 24 Sep Red Raw

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Wed 25 Sep Best Of Irish Comedy

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £7 (£6/£3 members)

A selection of top comics from the contemporary Irish circuit do their thing, under the watchful eye of host Michael Redmond. New Material Night

Vespbar, 20:00–22:00, £3

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering, yes, all new material.

Thu 26 Sep

The Thursday Show (Karl Spain + Steffen Peddie + Paul Marsh) The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£7/£5 members)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Fri 27 Sep

The Friday Show (Karl Spain + Steffen Peddie + Paul Marsh)

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£10/£6 members)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

Wed 18 Sep New Material Night

Vespbar, 20:00–22:00, £3

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering, yes, all new material. Vision Aid Overseas Benefit

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6

Live comedy fundraiser in aid of Vision Aid Overseas, headed up by headliners Ray Bradshaw and Wendy Grubb, and host Vladimir McTavish.

Thu 19 Sep

The Thursday Show (Gary Little + Johnny Candon + Christian Schulte-Loh + Jelly Bean Matrinez) The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£7/£5 members)

Fri 20 Sep

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4/£2.50 members)

Chilled Sunday comedy showcase with resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond and guests.

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Wed 11 Sep

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

Sat 28 Sep

Tue 10 Sep Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Red Raw

Sun 22 Sep

The Friday Show (Gary Little + Johnny Candon + Christian Schulte-Loh + Jelly Bean Matrinez) The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£10/£6 members)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

Sat 21 Sep

The Saturday Show (Gary Little + Johnny Candon + Christian Schulte-Loh + Jelly Bean Matrinez) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

The Saturday Show (Karl Spain + Steffen Peddie + Paul Marsh)

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

Jim Davidson: You Must Be Joking

The Pavilion Theatre, 19:30–22:00, £20

Edinburgh Tue 03 Sep

Wicked Wenches (Leah Bonnema + Chloe Philip + Ashley Storrie + Sarah Short) The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£3 members)

All-female stand-up extravaganza, with a suitably varied mix of headliners and newcomers taking to the stage each month.

Thu 05 Sep

The Thursday Show (Dave Johns + Leah Bonnema + Phil Differ + Dan Petherbridge) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£7/£5 members)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase. Thursday Notebook

Beehive Inn, 20:00–22:00, £2 (£1)

A mixed batch of stand-up rookies take to the stage to cut their teeth. Be gentle on ‘em.

Fri 06 Sep

The Friday Show (Dave Johns + Leah Bonnema + Phil Differ + Dan Petherbridge) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £12 (£10/£6 members)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts. The Beehive Comedy Club

Beehive Inn, 20:30–22:30, £7

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups.

Sat 07 Sep

The Saturday Show (Dave Johns + Leah Bonnema + Phil Differ + Dan Petherbridge) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend. The Beehive Comedy Club

Beehive Inn, 20:30–22:30, £7

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups.

Sun 08 Sep

The Sunday Night Laugh-In

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

The longstanding English comic and TV host does his usual politically incorrect thing; you may or may not laugh.

Chilled comedy showcase to cure your Sunday evening back-towork blues.

Sun 29 Sep

The Stand, 13:30–15:30, Free

Michael Redmond’s Sunday Service The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

Chilled Sunday comedy showcase with resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond and guests.

Scottish Comedian of the Year: Grand Final

O2 Academy, 19:00–22:00, £13

A talented line-up of comics battle it out in the grand final of the Scottish Comedian of the Year awards, with local lad Des Clarke on official hosting duties.

Mon 30 Sep Bright Club

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £5

A selection of comedic academics do a stint of stand-up for your entertainment and enlightenment. Laughs and learning in one neat package: tick.

Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

Improvised lunchtime comedy favourite with resident cheeky chappies Stu & Garry.

Mon 09 Sep Red Raw

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material. Edinburgh Revue Vs We’ve Become Mango

Bedlam Theatre, 19:00–21:00, £3 (£2.50 members)

Edinburgh University’s resident comedy addicts, Edinburgh Revue, lock horns with sketch group We’ve Become Mango to present a selection of stand-up and sketches from the past year.

Tue 10 Sep Electric Tales

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4)

More in the way of stand-up comedy crossed with live storytelling, with the tease of a promise of robot badges for all (as in, we’re there). Grassroots Comedy

The Pleasance, 19:30–22:00, £1

Showcase night featuring the best in fresh, local talent – bringing together first-time and upand-coming comics in a series of quickfire 10-minute slots.

Wed 11 Sep The Melting Pot

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £5 (£4/£2.50 members)

Comedy sketches picked by the audience and performed by a troupe of actors and musicians. The Improverts

Bedlam Theatre, 22:30–23:30, £5.50 (£5 members)

Long-standing improv comedy troupe made up of an everchanging line-up of local students, whose rather fine show is built entirely on (oft daft) audience suggestions.

Thu 12 Sep

The Thursday Show (Carey Marx + Janey Godley + Erich McElroy + Owen McGuire) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£7/£5 members)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase. Thursday Notebook

Beehive Inn, 20:00–22:00, £2 (£1)

A mixed batch of stand-up rookies take to the stage to cut their teeth. Be gentle on ‘em.

Fri 13 Sep

The Friday Show (Carey Marx + Janey Godley + Erich McElroy + Owen McGuire)

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £12 (£10/£6 members)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts. The Improverts

Bedlam Theatre, 22:30–23:30, £5.50 (£5 members)

Long-standing improv comedy troupe made up of an everchanging line-up of local students, whose rather fine show is built entirely on (oft daft) audience suggestions. The Beehive Comedy Club

Beehive Inn, 20:30–22:30, £7

Smalls For All Benefit The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£7/£5 members)

Live comedy fundraiser in aid of Smalls For All, headed up by headliner Susan Calman and host Vladimir McTavish.

Thu 19 Sep

The Thursday Show (Junior Simpson + Andrew Bird + Ashley Storrie)

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£7/£5 members)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase. Thursday Notebook

Beehive Inn, 20:00–22:00, £2 (£1)

A mixed batch of stand-up rookies take to the stage to cut their teeth. Be gentle on ‘em.

Fri 20 Sep

The Friday Show (Junior Simpson + Andrew Bird + Ashley Storrie)

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £12 (£10/£6 members)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts. The Improverts

Bedlam Theatre, 22:30–23:30, £5.50 (£5 members)

Long-standing improv comedy troupe made up of an everchanging line-up of local students, whose rather fine show is built entirely on (oft daft) audience suggestions. The Beehive Comedy Club

Beehive Inn, 20:30–22:30, £7

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups.

The Beehive Comedy Club

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups.

Sun 15 Sep Red Raw

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material. The Sunday Night Laugh-In

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

Chilled comedy showcase to cure your Sunday evening back-towork blues. Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

The Stand, 13:30–15:30, Free

Improvised lunchtime comedy favourite with resident cheeky chappies Stu & Garry.

Tue 17 Sep Grassroots Comedy

The Pleasance, 19:30–22:00, £1

Showcase night featuring the best in fresh, local talent – bringing together first-time and upand-coming comics in a series of quickfire 10-minute slots.

Wed 18 Sep

The Good, The Bad and The Unexpected

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £5

A bright collective of comedians experiment with the medium of stand-up, under the ever-watchful eye of regular host Jo Caulfield.

The Beehive Comedy Club

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups. Roy Chubby Brown

Edinburgh Playhouse, 19:30–22:00, £21

The English stand-up comic does his usual line in rude and crude banter, as politically incorrect as ever.

Sun 22 Sep

The Sunday Night Laugh-In

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

Chilled comedy showcase to cure your Sunday evening back-towork blues. Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

The Stand, 13:30–15:30, Free

Improvised lunchtime comedy favourite with resident cheeky chappies Stu & Garry.

Mon 23 Sep

Polish Comedy Show

The Bongo Club, 19:00–22:00, £tbc

A selection of Polish comics give Edinburgh what for.

Fri 27 Sep

The Friday Show (Mark Maier + Mary Bourke + Liam Withnail)

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £12 (£10/£6 members)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts. The Improverts

Bedlam Theatre, 22:30–23:30, £5.50 (£5 members)

Long-standing improv comedy troupe made up of an everchanging line-up of local students, whose rather fine show is built entirely on (oft daft) audience suggestions. The Beehive Comedy Club

Beehive Inn, 20:30–22:30, £7

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups.

Sat 28 Sep

The Saturday Show (Mark Maier + Mary Bourke + Liam Withnail) The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

Red Raw

The Beehive Comedy Club

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. Check their Facebook page on the day for line-ups.

Sun 29 Sep

The Sunday Night Laugh-In

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£1 members)

Chilled comedy showcase to cure your Sunday evening back-towork blues. Whose Lunch Is It Anyway?

The Stand, 13:30–15:30, Free

Improvised lunchtime comedy favourite with resident cheeky chappies Stu & Garry. Rock ‘n’ Roll Ping Pong: 2nd Birthday

The Bongo Club, 19:00–23:00, Free

The It’s Funtime jokers present a free, fun, table tennis evening in honour of their 2nd birthday, with dancing discs from DJ Ding Dong (ahem).

Mon 30 Sep Red Raw

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Tue 24 Sep

Dundee

Bright Club

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £5

A selection of comedic academics do a stint of stand-up for your entertainment and enlightenment. Laughs and learning in one neat package: tick. Grassroots Comedy

The Pleasance, 19:30–22:00, £1

Showcase night featuring the best in fresh, local talent – bringing together first-time and upand-coming comics in a series of quickfire 10-minute slots.

Wed 25 Sep

Best of Scottish Comedy

The Stand, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£3 members)

A selection of top comics from the contemporary Scottish circuit do their thing, aye.

September 2013

A mixed batch of stand-up rookies take to the stage to cut their teeth. Be gentle on ‘em.

Beehive Inn, 20:30–22:30, £7

Thursday Notebook

Beehive Inn, 20:00–22:00, £2 (£1)

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

The Saturday Show (Junior Simpson + Andrew Bird + Ashley Storrie)

Sat 14 Sep

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Sat 21 Sep

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £15

The Stand, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£7/£5 members)

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

Thu 26 Sep

The Thursday Show (Mark Maier + Mary Bourke + Liam Withnail)

Fri 13 Sep

Fawlty Towers: The Dinner Show

Dundee Rep, 19:30–22:00, £25

Comedy dining experience served up by a cast of comic players, in tribute to the TV show of the same name, where anything and everything probably will go wrong.

Sat 14 Sep

Fawlty Towers: The Dinner Show

Dundee Rep, 19:30–22:00, £25

Comedy dining experience served up by a cast of comic players, in tribute to the TV show of the same name, where anything and everything probably will go wrong.

Art Glasgow CCA

Shelly Nadashi

various dates between 3 Aug and 14 Sep, 11:00am – 6:00pm, Free

New body of work from the Israeliborn, Brussels-based artist, offering a glimpse into her recent history as an artist, sharing with the viewer the new concerns and developments of her practice. Iain Hetherington + Jacob Kerray + Owen Piper

various dates between 3 Aug and 14 Sep, 11:00am – 6:00pm, Free

Coming together for a group showcase of work, Iain Hetherington, Jacob Kerray and Owen Piper share a series of concerns with the reality of making work and the subsequent meaning of the results. Nicola Kirkaldy + Iede Reckman: The Horizon of Gravity Hill

31 Aug – 13 Sep, not 1 Sep, 8 Sep, 11:00am – 6:00pm, Free

Collaboration between Netherlands artists Nicola Kirkaldy and Iede Reckman, taking the form of a large-scale installation in which the perspectives and visual lines are disturbed and recreated.

David Dale Gallery and Studios Oblique

various dates between 7 Sep and 28 Sep, 12:00pm – 5:00pm, Free

Group exhibition of new work from Nils Guadagnin, Samuel Levack and Jennifer Lewandowski, and Kristian Smith – the result of a one month residency in Artistes en Résidence, Clermont-Ferrand, France.

Gallery of Modern Art

Niki de Saint Phalle: The Eric and Jean Cass Gift

17 Dec – 16 Nov, times vary, Free

Exhibition of 13 sculptures, one lithograph and other related ephemera by French sculptor, painter, and film maker Niki de Saint Phalle, gifted to Glasgow Museums through the Contemporary Art Society. Ian Hamilton Finlay: Poet, Artist, Revolutionary

22 Jun – 1 Mar, times vary, Free

Exhibition of graphic prints and sculptural installations by the late Ian Hamilton Finlay (1925–2006), drawn from Glasgow Museums’ own gifted collection. A Picture Show

18 Jul – 2 Feb, times vary, Free

Group show of 12 Glasgow-based painters, intended to survey the complexity, subtlety and variety of the art form – with no unifying concept of theme, other than painting being their central practice.

Glasgow Print Studio 40/40

various dates between 23 Aug and 13 Oct, times vary, Free

Glasgow Print Studio mark their 40th year with a showcase exhibition featuring 40 new prints by 40 of their best-known artists (alongside a selection of artist members) – amongst them Alasdair Gray, Elizabeth Blackadder, Martin Boyce and Jim Lambie.

Glasgow School of Art A Conspiracy of Detail

13 Jul – 29 Sep, times vary, Free

Group exhibition looking at the ideas contemporary practice has around adornment, in terms of cultural, social, religious and material aspects – featuring artists working across contemporary visual art and design. In the Mackintosh Museum.

Listings

Yusuke Yamamoto and Satoko Takemura 30 Aug – 29 Sep, times vary, Free

Double header exhibition marking the end of Yusuke Yamamoto and Satoko Takemura’s one year research fellowship in the department of Silversmithing and Jewellery at GSA, for which both designers came over from Musashino Art University in Tokyo.

Glasgow Sculpture Studios

Nina Beier: Liquid Assets

various dates between 13 Jul and 7 Sep, 11:00am – 5:00pm, Free

New work from the Danish artist, whose practice explores notions of representation through the practice of sculpture – with this exhibition bringing together a selection of new commissions and pre-existing works.

Good Press The History Of

4 Sep – 6 Oct, 11:00am – 7:00pm, Free

An exploration into recorded histories through sound featuring cassette tapes of recorded music, sound and speech compiled and created by a selection of artists, musicians, record labels and other practitioners who have an invested interest in music.

Hunterian Art Gallery

Allan Ramsay: Portraits of the Enlightenment

various dates between 13 Sep and 5 Jan, times vary, £7.50 (£5)

Intriguing exhibition casting new light on the work of Allan Ramsay (1713-1784), to mark the tercentenary of his birth – taking in a selection of works from across his 30 years as a painter.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

The Hidden Lane Tramway Brian Griffiths: Borrowed Gallery World, Borrowed Eyes Domicele Tarabildiene: A Challenging Time

various dates between 10 Aug and 20 Sep, 11:00am – 5:00pm, Free

A well known interwar artist, Domicele Tarabildiene surreal photography has only recently attracted public attention in Europe – this exhibition features 30 significant photographs from the early 30s, most using the photomontage technique.

The Lighthouse

Ice Lab: New Architecture and Science in Antarctica

26 Jul – 2 Oct, times vary, Free

Premiere of a new touring exhibition presenting some of the most innovative examples of contemporary architecture in Antarctica, focusing on the design of five case study buildings and highlighting the cutting edge science that takes place there. Glasgow School of Art: Graduate Degree Show

14–28 Sep, times vary, Free

Graduate degree show featuring work by Glasgow School of Art students across a wide variety of disciplines, from Design Innovation to Photography, Architecture and Medical Visualisation. Glasgow School of Art: MDes Fashion and Textiles Promenades

26 Sep, times vary, £10

As a closing highlight of Glasgow School of Art’s 2013 Degree Show run (14-28 Sep), the MDes Fashion and Textiles students take to a promenade setting for a catwalk showcase – offering a first view of their textile designs, silhouettes and colour palettes.

The Modern Institute

Sea Salt and Cross Passes

various dates between 7 Sep and 19 Oct, times vary, Free

Collective exhibition curated by Norwegian gallery Standard (Oslo), featuring varied work by Matias 21 Sep – 23 Feb, times vary, £5 (£3) Faldbakken, Chadwick Rantanen, The most comprehensive exhibition Torbjørn Rødland, Oscar Tuazon and ever devoted to Scottish artist, Fredrik Værslev. Jack Vettriano - bringing together his most definitive works gathered The Modern for the first time from private Institute @ collections around the world. Jack Vettriano: A Retrospective

Mary Mary

Sara Barker: The Things That Are Solid, Absorbed and Still

various dates between 7 Sep and 26 Oct, 12:00pm – 6:00pm, Free

Solo exhibition of new sculptures from British artist Sara Barker, continuing with her series of delicate constructions in wire, metal and canvas.

RGI Kelly Gallery

Kate Downie: Walk Through Resonant Landscape

29 Aug – 6 Oct, times vary, Free

Kate Downie showcases a selection of new artworks created in response to experiences of contemporary Chinese landscape and society, showing across Glasgow’s RGI Kelly Gallery and Edinburgh’s Royal Scottish Academy.

SWG3 2|1|4|1

6–8 Sep, times vary, Free

Brand new Scottish artist-led collective, 2|1|4|1, host their first ever Annual Members’ Show – featuring work from a 14-strong line-up of artists.

Street Level Photoworks Borderlands 2

various dates between 10 Aug and 6 Oct, times vary, Free

Marking 20 years since their first major exhibition of Baltic photography in Britain, Street Level Photoworks host a special series focusing on photography from Lithuania, including significant work from the 80s and 90s.

Airds Lane Sue Tompkins

various dates between 7 Sep and 2 Nov, 12:00pm – 5:00pm, Free

Selection of new paintings by Glasgow-based visual and artist Sue Tompkins – also known as the frontwoman of Life Without Buildings – responding as she does to a world where information, sound and images blur into a flow or a flicker.

The Old Hairdressers Deep Down

19 Sep, 12:00pm – 6:00pm, Free

One day exhibition from Natalie McGowan and Beth Shapeero, bringing together sculptural and painterly elements from their respective practices – utilising the non-white cube exhibition space to create semi-collaborative installations and multi-part works.

The Telfer Gallery

Federico Del Vecchio: We Are Always Using The Same Things

various dates between 30 Aug and 22 Sep, times vary, Free

Italian artist, recently graduated from an MFA at The Glasgow School of Art and thereafter the Helsinki International Artist in Residence Program, exploring and question the ‘everyday’ through the writings of Maurice Blanchot and Henri Lefebvre.

The Virginia Gallery When Worlds Collide

various dates between 24 Aug and 14 Sep, 11:00am – 5:30pm, Free

New exhibition of work from Glasgow-based art duo Burgess & Bear, combining the (mostly figurative) paintings of Burgess with the structures and buildingsstyled digital work of Bear – showing across solo pieces and collaborative efforts.

various dates between 2 Aug and 22 Sep, times vary, Free

Ambitious solo exhibition in which sculptor Brian Griffiths responds to the industrial scale of Tramway’s main gallery with a mammoth field of geometric sculptures, shrouded in worn, painted, patched and stitched tarpaulin. Andrea Büttner

various dates between 31 Aug and 13 Oct, times vary, Free

Solo exhibition by German artist Andrea Büttner, drawing together two film works which explore and reflect on the daily lives of two communities of nuns: Little Sisters: Lunapark Ostia (2012) and Little Works (2007).

Edinburgh City Art Centre

Coming into Fashion: A Century of Photography at Condé Nast

15 Jun – 8 Sep, times vary, £5 (£3.50)

Early fashion photography from the Condé Nast archives by such luminaries as Cecil Beaton, Helmut Newton, David Bailey, Guy Bourdin and Mario Testino, as it appeared in the pages of various Condé Nast publications. Dressed to Kill

15 Jun – 29 Sep, times vary, Free

Showcase of how Scottish artists have captured fashion, costume and dress over the years, from the late 17th century to present day – covering everything from everyday clothes to the most elaborate of fashionable dress.

Dovecot

David Peat: Photographer, An Eye on the World

27 Sep – 26 Oct, not 29 Sep, 6 Oct, 13 Oct, 20 Oct, 10:30am – 5:30pm, Free

Retrospective exhibition of the work of late Scottish filmmaker and photographer David Peat, who quietly built an impressive personal portfolio of classic street photography-styled images during a life working around the world. Jacki Parry

27 Sep – 26 Oct, not 29 Sep, 6 Oct, 13 Oct, 20 Oct, 10:30am – 5:30pm, Free

Solo exhibition from the former Head of Printmaking at Glasgow School of Art, Jacki Parry, featuring a diverse collection of paperworks in two and three dimensions made between 2000-2012, plus a small selection of earlier work.

Edinburgh Printmakers

Rachel Maclean: I Heart Scotland

various dates between 2 Aug and 7 Sep, 10:00am – 6:00pm, Free

Solo exhibition by Glasgow-based artist Rachel Maclean, premiering a new film and a series of screenprints, commissioned and published by Edinburgh Printmakers over the last two years. International Print Center New York: New Prints 2013

various dates between 21 Sep and 2 Nov, 10:00am – 6:00pm, Free

Edinburgh Printmakers take stock of a selection of new work from IPCNY – a non-profit institution devoted to the fine art print – consisting of etchings, lithographs, installations, books, sculptures and other manifestations of the print processes.

Embassy Gallery Take Stock

various dates between 13 Sep and 29 Sep, 12:00pm – 6:00pm, Free

New work from Edinburgh/Glasgow Fine Art graduates Sally SearsBlack, Eva Lerche-Lerchenborg, Kornelia Klokk and Chloë Frizzell, incorporating themes of non-verbal communication, physicality of the image, tales of creation and the monotony of everyday.

Fruitmarket Gallery

Royal Scottish Academy (RSA)

1 Aug – 18 Oct, times vary, Free

various dates between 22 Apr and 30 Sep, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free

Gabriel Orozco: Thinking in Circles (EAF)

EGO

Exhibition taking the 2005 work The Eye of Go as its starting point, looking at how the circular geometric motif of this painting – part of a way of thinking for Orozco – migrates onto other work, recurring in other paintings, sculptures and photographs.

Interactive exhibition of selfportraits from the RSA collections, designed to tie in to the 187th RSA Annual Exhibition and its theme – celebrating works of art that inhabit the gap between perceived and imagined realities. Open Mondays only.

Garage

20 Jul – 8 Sep, times vary, Free

GARAGE

various dates between 3 Aug and 15 Sep, 12:00pm – 4:00pm, Free

The unique project space that is GARAGE – aka three garages and a garden – present a selection of new works and collaborations by artists created during a series of micro-residencies.

Ingleby Gallery

Peter Liversidge: Doppelgänger

1 Aug – 21 Sep, not 1 Sep, 8 Sep, 15 Sep, times vary, Free

Contemporary British artist Peter Liversidge presents a unique exhibition which unpicks the powerful and strange story of Ein Handschuh – a suite of etchings from 1881 by the Austrian Symbolist Max Klinger.

Inverleith House Mostly West: Franz West and Artist Collaborations

various dates between 13 Jul and 22 Sep, 10:00am – 5:30pm, Free

First exhibition by late Austrian artist Franz West, featuring works made in collaboration with other leading visual artists, including Douglas Gordon, Marina Faust, Mike Kelley, Sarah Lucas and Michelangelo Pistoletto.

Jupiter Artland Sam Durant: Scaffold

various dates between 3 Aug and 15 Sep, 10:00am – 5:00pm, £8.50 (£4.50)

Jupiter Artland present an Immense new wooden structure by the Los Angeles-based artist Sam Durant – the first installation in a new programme of temporarily sited sculptures amidst the 100 acre estate grounds. Jeremy Deller and Alan Kane

various dates between 3 Aug and 15 Sep, 10:00am – 5:00pm, £8.50 (£4.50)

In the year he represents the UK at the Venice Biennale, Jeremy Deller and his long-standing collaborator, Alan Kane, show new work at Jupiter Artland – including the artists’ Steam Powered Internet Machine. Sara Barker: Patterns

various dates between 1 Aug and 15 Sep, 10:00am – 5:00pm, £8.50 (£4.50)

Sara Barker shows a series of her delicate constructions in wire, metal and canvas in Jupiter Artland’s sculpture gardens, at the same time marking the first time she has worked outdoors.

Domenica More Gordon: Top Dogs

various dates between 6 Jul and 15 Sep, 10:00am – 5:00pm, £8.50 (£4.50)

Jupiter Artland host a new exhibition of East Lothian artist Domenica More Gordon’s hand-felted dog sculptures, showing alongside a selection of new paintings. In the Tin Roof Gallery.

Open Eye Gallery

Rory McEwen: Tulips and Tulipomania

22 Aug – 21 Sep, not 25 Aug, 1 Sep, 8 Sep, 15 Sep, times vary, Free

The Print Room space at Open Eye presents the suite of eight tulip prints from the portfolio Tulips and Tulipomania by Rory McEwen, worked on between 1932 and 1982. Jonathan Gibbs: Fish Bone

9–25 Sep, not 15, 22, times vary, Free

Solo showcase of wood engravings, drawings and paintings by Edinburgh College of Art tutor, Jonathan Gibbs.

Catharine Davison: this land ate my heart

9–25 Sep, not 15, 22, times vary, Free

Solo exhibition of paintings and drawings of Edinburgh’s urban landscape by Edinburgh-based artist Catharine Davison, inspired by the lines and designs of both nature and the urban environment around her.

Collectors’ Choice

Examination of the motivations, processes and benefits of collecting contemporary art, told through a display of works owned by collectors – including first-time buyers, family collections and national institutions. 21 Revolutions: Two Decades of Changing Minds at Glasgow Women’s Library 20 Jul – 8 Sep, times vary, Free

To mark their 21st birthday in 2012, Glasgow Women’s Library commissioned 21 female artists to create limited edition fine art prints inspired by items in its collections – herein lie the fruits. Kate Downie: Walk Through Resonant Landscape

29 Aug – 6 Oct, times vary, Free

14 Sep – 27 Oct, times vary, Free

Expansive group exhibition of artists selected from the extensive RSA Residencies programme, aimed at highlighting the results of opportunities taken with residency centres and centres of excellence across Scotland.

Scottish National Gallery Through American Eyes: Frederic Church and the Landscape Oil Sketch

Minette: The Life and Letters of a Stuart Princess 19–5 Jan, times vary, Free

Man Ray: Portraits

Talbot Rice Gallery

The youngest sister of Charles II comes under the spotlight, with a mini exhibition centred around a full-length portrait of Henriette Anne (aka Minette) by the French artist Jean Nocret.

The Demarco European Art Foundation replay their exhibition at the Italo-Scottish Pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale in June.

22 Jun – 22 Sep, times vary, £7 (£5)

Transmitted Live: Nam June Paik Resounds

Major retrospective of Man Ray’s photographic portraits, featuring over 100 works taking in his most significant muses – Lee Miller and Kiki de Montparnasse, and fellow artists Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali, plus others. Ken Currie

20 Jul – 22 Sep, times vary, Free

Series of new paintings, on public view for the first time, in which Scottish figurative painter Ken Currie meditates upon the idea of the portrait, its origins and purposes, and its continued significance in the modern world.

Stills

Ângela Ferreira: Political Cameras

First solo exhibition in a public gallery in the UK for Ângela Ferreira, who presents her Political Cameras project from 2011 alongside a new commission referencing the legacy of David Livingstone’s life and work.

Summerhall

Fiona Banner: The Vanity Press

2 Aug – 27 Sep, 11:00am – 9:00pm, Free

British artist Fiona Banner’s premieres a selection of new film works and recent publications with a focus on performance, including a trio of video works being shown for the first time. One Hundred Multiples: Lawrence Weiner

2 Aug – 27 Sep, 11:00am – 9:00pm, Free

Unique exhibition of 100 of the multiples released by conceptual artist Lawrence Weiner, exhibited for the first time at Summerhall before touring elsewhere. Robbie Thompson: Ecstatic Arc

2 Aug – 27 Sep, 11:00am – 9:00pm, Free

Peter Doig: No Foreign Lands

Sun Ra: The Immeasurable Equation

3 Aug – 3 Nov, times vary, Free

First major exhibition of painter Peter Doig to be held in the country of his birth, surveying works created during the past 10 years, with emphasis on the artist’s approach to serial motifs and recurring imagery.

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art From Death to Death and Other Small Tales

15 Dec – 8 Sep, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free

Selected masterpieces from the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the D.Daskalopoulos Collection, taking in 130 works that highlight the significance of the body as a theme in 20th and 21st century art practice. Witches and Wicked Bodies

27 Jul – 3 Nov, 10:00am – 5:00pm, £7 (£5)

Historical exhibition journeying through 16th and 17th century prints and drawings, detailing how the advent of the printing press allowed artists to share ideas, myths and fears about witches from country to country.

Scottish National Portrait Gallery Migration Stories: Valentina Bonizzi

23 Feb – 22 Sep, times vary, Free

Having lived in Scotland for eight years, Italian-born artist Valentina Bonizzi uses photography and video to create what she terms the ‘image document’, exploring migrant experiences from 1850 to today.

9 Aug – 19 Oct, 10:00am – 5:00pm, Free

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Nam June Paik’s first solo exhibition, demonstrating how revolutionary the artist remains for contemporary audiences in encouraging creative engagement with technology.

Whitespace Svetlana Kondakova

6–12 Sep, times vary, Free

Solo exhibition of paintings by Russian artist Svetlana Kondakova, referencing her home country and roots through detailed portraits, narrative paintings and more experimental mosaic works.

2 Aug – 27 Oct, 11:00am – 6:00pm, Free

11 May – 8 Sep, times vary, Free

Exhibition celebrating 19th century American painter Frederic Church, renowned for his impressive landscapes combining dramatic compositions with carefully-observed light effects.

A Selection from The Richard Demarco Archive 2 Aug – 27 Sep, 11:00am – 9:00pm, Free

Theatrical installation combining music and mechanical choreography, based on a dystopian future of masks and sculptures, created using found objects, recording devices and a caged Tesla coil. 2 Aug – 27 Sep, 11:00am – 9:00pm, Free

Special exhibition of previously unseen cover art and LP covers and ephemera from the esoteric, spiritual jazz great Sun Ra and the Arkestra, shown alongside photographs of the band. Martin Green: Scuffed Underside

2 Aug – 27 Sep, 11:00am – 9:00pm, Free

Artist Martin Green showcases a selection of his delicate artworks, sitting half-way between sculpture and paintings, using a strange assortment of unusual found objects. Chinese Modern Abstract Art: Moving Beyond

2 Aug – 27 Sep, 11:00am – 9:00pm, Free

Six contemporary Chinese artists (Liu Guofo, Guan Jing Jing, Yang Liming, Liang Qian, He Gong and Wu Jian) showcase their work, in an arts project conceived by Chinese poet Yang Lian and Dr Janet McKenzie. Derek Jarman: The Blue Book

2 Aug – 27 Sep, 11:00am – 9:00pm, Free

Dundee Cooper Gallery

Knife Edge Press: The Complete Works (so far)

29 Aug – 21 Sep, not 1 Sep, 8 Sep, 15 Sep, 12:00pm – 4:30pm, Free

Showcase of the artist books produced by Knife Edge Press – the creative partnership of writer Mel Gooding and artist Bruce McLean – shown alongside prints, posters, correspondences and other ephemera generated in their 28 years. In the Cooper Gallery.

DCA

There Will Be New Rules Next Week

various dates between 20 Jul and 22 Sep, times vary, Free

Showcase of works by the late Sister Corita Kent (1918-1986), shown alongside work by five contemporary artists inspired by her printmaking and life-affirming teaching: Peter Davies, Ruth Ewan, Emily Floyd, Scott Myles and Ciara Phillips.

Generator Projects

GENERATORprinthouse: Anyone Incapable of Taking Sides Should Say Nothing various dates between 29 Aug and 22 Sep, times vary, Free

Generator turn into a production site for text-based artistic interventions as part of the IMPACT 8 festival, with the gallery becoming an in-house publishing project looking at ways to disseminate knowledge and stimulate discourse about visual arts.

The McManus Modern Masters in Print

23 Aug – 17 Nov, times vary, Free

Dundee’s McManus play host to prints by four of the 20th Century’s greatest artists – Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Andy Warhol – as part of a special touring exhibition organised by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Re:New: Contemporary Art from the Permanent Collection

23 Aug – 1 Mar, times vary, Free

Showcase of the accompanying book to late filmmaker Derek Jarman’s final film, reproducing the text of the film in hand-painted blue boards, end papers and solander box, shown incomplete as it was left before his death.

Pieces selected from Dundee Art Galleries and Museums most recent art acquisitions go on display in a temporary exhibition that offers opportunities to engage with a selection of contemporary work from both Scottish and European artists.

2 Aug – 27 Sep, 11:00am – 9:00pm, Free

University of Dundee

Marius Alexander: The Performing Eye

Having photographed every one of Edinburgh’s many Festivals for 30 years, published in numerous books, magazines and newspapers all over the world, Marius Alexander gets a rightful showcase at Summerhall.

The D’Arcy Thompson Print Folio

various dates between 17 Aug and 21 Sep, times vary, Free

On-going project to explore the influence of D’Arcy Thompson in the visual arts, featuring newly commissioned limited edition artist prints created by students at the Printmaking Workshop at DJCAD. In the Tower Foyer Gallery.

THE SKINNY

The Last Word: Ministry As his El Paso compound comes under attack by a furry menace, Al Jourgensen explodes Ministry’s myths and offers a 12-point cautionary tale of rock’n’roll excess

Interview: Dave Kerr

“M

y compound has been taken over by a thug gang of asshole raccoons,” Al Jourgensen reports on the morning of our interview. Armed with a dose of cayenne pepper, he spends the day crawling in the crannies of his El Paso lair in an effort to chase out his newfound nemesis. So this must be retirement, or at the very least a well-earned break. Although 2011 saw the reactivation of industrial rock innovators Ministry and kick-started the recording of two new studio albums – the latest of which, From Beer To Eternity, is due for release this month – the sudden passing of long-term bandmate Mike Scaccia last December has called time on the band’s recorded output. Bookending Jourgensen’s most enduring project, perhaps once and for all, the LP is preceded by a document of one of their last gigs together, alongside his frankly harrowing, darkly humorous and remarkably lucid memoir. “The good thing is I’m drunker than fuck right now,” he shares by way of introduction when The Skinny’s call connects. In conversation, Jourgensen plays up to the volatile wisecracking caricature that was presented to the wider world via late night MTV throughout the 90s. But scratch beneath the surface and an affable Uncle Al puts his raccoon beef on ice to recount the highs, the lows and the unlikely cast of characters he’s crossed paths with during three storied decades at Ministry’s helm.

fight him. I don’t give a shit; I don’t like that guy and I make no bones about it. I think he’s bullshit and I know he thinks I’m bullshit. And that’s fine. It’s good to have a Hatfields and McCoys kinda feud going on in the rock industry. I think that’s healthy for the progression of music in general.”

On accidentally having breakfast with Lil Wayne… “I was in a Los Angeles hotel and saw this guy at 7 in the morning; he was throwing his phone against the wall in anger because he couldn’t get reception. I said, ‘Dude – relax, come up and raid my minibar. Let’s have breakfast.’ I didn’t know who he was. I talked to this guy for two hours – we sat there and drank, ate breakfast. When his phone started to work again he mentioned my name to whoever he was calling and said, ‘I’m having drinks with Al Jourgensen.’ He got off the phone and immediately said, ‘My manager said I should run, immediately – get out of there.’ My bodyguard who was with me at the hotel didn’t say a word, and after we checked out, he goes, ‘That was Lil Wayne.’ He’s really a good, suss, dude, man.”

On becoming a college lecturer…

On the need for an autobiography… “The whole book concept came about because my wife Angie and I would go out to the symphony, a dinner party or some other public event and usually by the end of the night I’d be drunk in the corner telling tour stories. She said ‘This is bullshit – why don’t you just write ‘em down in a pamphlet and hand ‘em out, then just go sit in a corner, shut up, drink your vodka and quit telling the same stories over and over?’ From that, it became a book and now she’s happy because we can go to public events and I don’t have to say shit.”

On reflection… “I’m always a forward-thinker; I don’t generally tend to dwell on my past, so it wasn’t cathartic – it was a pain in the ass. I didn’t have any revelations except for ‘OK – I’m a jackass.’ Big deal, I already know that. This shit happened. Listen, I didn’t set out to write a book. To me, my life is normal, that’s all I know. Why would I want to glorify that? It’s just a normal life for me. If other people get a kick out of it, well, good for them.”

On his formative comrades… “Bill Burroughs and Tim Leary were very influential in my life, and the people I met through them – from Allen Ginsberg on down. And there’s Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top, who is still a good friend. He really influenced me from his first album on, and then there’s people like Gibby Haynes and David Yow, who taught me in their own weird way that it’s OK to be completely motherfucking insane and still be somehow integrated into a society that really doesn’t like or tolerate that.”

On his most rewarding side-project… “Palehead with Ian Mackaye – Mr Straight Edge. I was a full-blown junkie at the time and Ian took a real risk by working with me. He got a lot of shit for that. I tried to hide the fact, while working with him, that I was a junkie, but it was pretty evident.

September 2013

“As long as you just kept Al wasted, everything was good” Al Jourgensen

I told him I had a bladder problem, so I had to pee every 15 minutes. I’d come out of the bathroom and there’d be blood running down my arm. Ian finally just said, ‘Look dude, you don’t pee out your arm. Cut the shit!’ And we’ve gotten along ever since.”

On the 90s… “Back then I really didn’t fucking care. You know what they did during all those years in the 90s when Ministry sold all those records? They just made sure I had enough Bushmills, wine, heroin and coke. I never saw a spreadsheet or who was making money of what; as long as you just kept Al wasted, everything was good.”

On Jesus Built My Hotrod… “Warner Brothers gave us $750,000 to do this album back in the 90s when big bucks were the deal. Me and Mike Scaccia just put it up our arms and noses. And we had no songs to show for it. The one exception was a drunken Gibby Haynes coming in off the first Lollapolooza to fall off his stool in the vocal booth, drunk off his ass, making no sense. I had to chop that up and it became Jesus Built My Hotrod. I sent it to Warner Brothers and they said, ‘What the hell is this? We

can’t sell this.’ I said ‘It’s all we got.’ They had to make the decision to either double down another $750,000 or just cut their losses then. And those dumbasses doubled-down. I was really put under martial law for the last half of that album to make sure I actually finished it. They said, ‘If you don’t do it this way, your career is over.’ I’ve been told that so many times, man, but here I am – a cockroach, still hanging around.”

On making one last Ministry album, “It’s definitely diverse. And this will be my last album. My health is good, but Mike Scaccia’s dead. He was my best friend, like my little brother. Two days after he got done with his parts on this record, he’s dead. Two more days later, I’m at his funeral in Dallas, speaking, and having to come back and mix what Mikey had just done. This was a pretty difficult record to do, emotionally, for me. I don’t mean to sound the pussy, but it was just kinda weird, y’know. If we did some kind of silly assed stuff in the studio, some picture would fall off the wall or something. That was a sign to us that Mike was saying ‘Go in a different direction.’ In retrospect I should’ve given his ghost a co-producer credit. “

“I absolutely feel comfortable, I don’t have to get drunk or stressed out. When I talk to college students – a captured room of 100-200 people – I feel much more at home than all the circuses of these rock festivals and the press that goes along with it. There’ll be no press on my college tour – thank God. You just go and talk to kids. They have questions, I might have an answer. It’s so much more fulfilling to me than being the traffic cop and babysitter onstage at a Ministry show, although the pay is a lot better if you’re a traffic cop or a babysitter. I’d rather be doing this for the next couple of years.”

On former roadie Trent Reznor… “I’ve thrown more firecrackers at Trent in his bunk than I’m sure he’s ever seen on any Fourth of July. I tortured him and we’re still friends. I love Trent, man. Look, I’ll tell you what, and I don’t mean this to sound like a diss…. I like his music, but his business mind and personality just fits with the industry. They don’t know what to do with people like me, but they know what to do with people like Trent Reznor. The guy’s great. There have been talks about working with him. I would enjoy that. I need some more commercial success and he needs more street cred. Maybe that’ll come down the road. Maybe not, maybe I’ll just do college lectures. My crystal ball is really foggy today. But either way I’m happy, I’m healthy and I hope everyone likes the latest stuff we did.”

On learning the bagpipes…

“I’m on the chanter, and I’m working my way up to bagpipes. I’m getting lessons from a friend here who is a 70-year-old Scottish bagpipe player, who played on some new Ministry stuff. He’s just a crazy bastard; he does it right, man. He doesn’t On challenging Henry Rollins to a wear the fuckin’ skivvies underneath, which is fight… kinda problematic – when he sits on a chair a “I can’t relate to anything that motherfucker says. I certain way you may have to sit there and stare at think his spoken word is bullshit. I think he came in a 70-year-old dick. Anyway, next time you see me to a good situation, replacing the original singer in I’ll be a kilt-wearing motherfucker blowing your Black Flag, and he milked it up to GAP commercials. brains out with Amazing Grace.” Now he’s got some kinda nature show or someMinistry: The Lost Gospels According to Al Jourgensen and Enjoy The Quiet: Live At Wacken are out now. From Beer to thing. I think he’s a poser. I would not mind taking Eternity is released on 6 Sep via 13th Planet him in a UFC [Ultimate Fighting Championship] match; if you want to put me in a cage match, I’ll www.thirteenthplanet.com/ministry

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