The Skinny Student Handbook Scotland 2017

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STUDENT HANDBOOK 2017 - 2018

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Contents

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From film festivals and Pride shenanigans to Hogmanay and Christmas markets, it’s your guide to the year’s top cultural events.

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MUSIC: Be Charlotte sends you out into the world with some solid recommendations for her favourite gig venues.

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A handy how-to in becoming a promoter, ‘cause everything starts from nothing.

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CLUBS: Edinburgh’s Theo Kottis shares the records that have shaped his taste in music

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ART: Some of our favourite arty types tell us what they’ve been up to since graduating (spoiler: some pretty cool shit).

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SEX: Let’s talk about sex, baby! Specifically, the lack of sex ed for the LGBTQIA+ community.

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FOOD & DRINK: £1 tacos, half-price pizza, free cocktails and loyalty cards with a twist? Turns out there’s more to cheap eats than your student card.

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Put down the value vodka and 20p mixer: there are actually tasty drinks to be drunk.

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Alcohol and social anxiety

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THEATRE: How the AF do you fund a theatre show? We’ll tell ya.

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Some sage advice for when you’ve finished your dissertation and have been spat out into The Real World.

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ACTIVISM: The world’s a mess, sure. But rather than moping about, we’ve some tips on things you, humble student, can do to make a difference.

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FILM: Short films by directors who’d go on to be famous = perfect career inspo for budding filmmakers... or, at the very least, solid hangover content.

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DAY TRIPS: Get up off your arse and out into the great outdoors. Or at least to the nearby beach for an ice cream.

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VENUE GUIDE: Pubs, clubs, museums, galleries, libraries... Scotland’s full of ‘em!

Find out more with our venue guides for Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee.

CREDITS Editor: Jess Hardiman Designer: Kyle McPartlin Production Manager: Sarah Donley Contributors: Tallah Brash, Charlotte Brimner, Jamie Dunn, Kate Pasola, Toby Sharpe, Peter Simpson, Amy Taylor, Megan Wallace Sales & Marketing: Sandy Park, Keith Allan, George Sully, Issy Patience, Sebastian Fisher Illustrator: Jacky Sheridan Maps: © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA (openstreetmap.org) RADGE MEDIA Editor-in-Chief: Rosamund West Bookkeeping & Accounts: Rebecca Sweeney Publisher: Sophie Kyle theskinny.co.uk @theskinnymag @theskinnymag @theskinnymag Get in touch: E: hello@theskinny.co.uk T: 0131 467 4630 P: The Skinny, 1.9 1st Floor Tower, Techcube, Summerhall, Edinburgh, EH9 1PL 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.

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Heads Up Your month-by-month guide to the year’s best events, from music festivals to carnivals and foodie feasts to Pride

Graphic Design Festival Scotland

September Now that the novelty of stealing traffic cones / engaging in pub golf / vomming in gutters has distinctly worn off, let’s get onto the good stuff, shall we? If you’re Edinburgh-based, take your new pals to DAREFest (23 Sep), a one day festival aimed at empowering women to take part in the Scottish music scene. If you’re in Glasgow you can head to Doors Open Days (11-17 Sep), which offer a chance to stick your nose into other people’s businesses and also learn about the social history of your new home through a series of talks and tours.

After that, head over to Take One Action Film Festival in Edinburgh & Glasgow from 13-24 Sep for a programme of feature films and shorts aiming to change the word. If you want to get really cultured, take advantage of standby student tickets at Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre and King’s Theatre; turn up on the day and nab show tickets for a tenner – less than the price of a Dominos.

November Remember, remember, NEoN Digital Arts Festival, a programme of installations, exhibitions and performances across Dundee from 7-12 Nov. Oh – and the fifth of November! Head to theskinny.co.uk for a full rundown of this year’s displays closer to the time. There are usually stellar shows at Glasgow Green in the west, and Meadowbank Stadium or Calton Hill if you’re in the big ‘Burg. The autumn film festival programme continues with the French Film Festival, celebrating their silver jubilee with a series of screenings and special events from 4 Nov-2 Dec. Also, leg it to Edinburgh Castle on 30 Nov – it’s St Andrew’s Day so you might be able to hustle your way in for free.

October Fine, throw a shite Halloween party if you must, but bear in mind how much brilliance Scotland’s proffering this October. There’s the Graphic Design Festival (20-26 Oct), Scotland Loves Animation Festival (13-22 Oct) and Africa in Motion, a festival bringing another programme of cliché-slaying films to Glasgow from 27 Oct-5 Nov. 8

LISTINGS

Edinburgh Castle

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February Not gonna lie, February’s baltic climes are pretty minging up here, but hopefully by now you’ve locked down with some lovely person you met in your tutorials just in time for Valentine’s. But where to go? Catch some celluloid at Glasgow Film Festival (21 Feb-5 Mar), obviously. Or, if you’re riding more solo than Derulo head to The Stand Comedy Club who’ll hopefully be running their usual AntiValentine’s night of group sympathy and laughing through the tears.

March Just as you’re starting to shit bricks that you’re going to fail your first year, March explodes with all kinds of gallivanting and tomfoolery for your exploitation. There’s Glasgow Short Film Festival (14-18 Mar); RSA New Contemporaries – an exhibition of this year’s sparkliest Scottish Fine Art graduates; Glasgow Comedy Festival (8-25 Mar); the impeccably named StAnza poetry festival in St Andrews (7-11 Mar); a silent cinema festival at Bo’ness Hippodrome Cinema (dates TBC in Sep), and the massive geek-out that is Edinburgh International Science Festival (31 Mar-15 Apr).

Chill out, you can revise when you’re dead.

Hogmanay

December Edinburgh and Glasgow city centres go berserk around this point of the year, which is handy because you’ve got revision to neglect. Mulledwine and Belgian waffle-dine yourself at the Christmas markets throughout December, then stagger into 2018 (WTF) at Edinburgh’s gargantuan Hogmanay celebrations, complete with street parties, fireworks and ceilidhs galore (31 Dec).

January Chances are your first year has already given you a Hulk-esque metabolism for alcohol, so Dry January can get tae fuck. You’re probably a bit poor though, so just look forward to the haggis-fiesta that is Burns Night for now (25 Jan). Speaking of scran, keep an eye out for the results of The Skinny Food and Drink Survey 2018 this month too. We’ll keep you right.

If you’re looking for some culture to see you through the long dark days head along to Manipulate, a celebration of puppetry, animation and visual theatre from 28 Jan-3 Feb. 2017 – 2018

LISTINGS

Glasgow Film Theatre

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April Glasgow’s book festival Aye Write! kicks off your April (dates TBC) – head on down to pick out some decent springtime reading material. Alternatively, usher in the Summer Pagan-style at Beltane, a fire festival straddling Calton Hill on the last eve of April.

Vegans and vegan-fanciers can head to Glasgow’s Trades Hall for Vegan Festival on 14 & 15 Apr where they will find out (to quote the website) ‘how easy and attractive it is to be a vegan :)’ Staying in Glasgow, the city’s biennial festival of visual art – Glasgow International – arrives from 20 Apr-7 May with (presumably) its now-expected stellar programme of pop-ups, art stars both international and local, and access to some of the city’s hidden spaces.

June YOU’RE FREE. TAPS AFF. Oh, it’s raining? Well, no, don’t celebrate with Netflix, you conglomerate of millennial loneliness and digital addiction. Go and interact with actual humans and the arts at Edinburgh International Film Festival (20 Jun-1 Jul). There’s also Leith Late, an annual arts festival of exhibitions, tours, marts and gigs (exact dates TBC), and top hats galore at Edinburgh Magic Festival (dates TBC). If you want to properly acquaint yourself with this fine country and learn a disconcerting amount about ferrets, trek up to the Royal Highland Show (21-24 Jun). Or, if you want to see what is truly fine about this country, head to Edinburgh Pride on 16 Jun for some celebration and solidarity.

May It’s degree show season! Go help those knackered art students get their long-awaited validation, starting out with DJCAD in Dundee, before continuing into June with the fruits of GSA and ECA’s labours. If you’re feeling very adventurous, you can even head up to Aberdeen to see what the Gray’s students have been up to. WARNING: the campus is an hour’s walk from the station and the city is filled with seagulls the size of Jack Russells.

If checking out other people’s college success is a bit close to the bone around exam-time (you’re probably knee-deep in textbooks, after all), why not run away from it all for a lost weekend at Glasgow’s annual May weekender Riverside Festival (dates TBC). Failing that, check out what Edinburgh Uni’s Improverts are up to; usually they chuck on a couple of Exam Shows, providing the student body with a little well-deserved comic relief.

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GSA Degree Show 2017

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Photo: Damien McGlynn

Leith Late

July If you’ve managed to save a bit of pocket money from your almost non-existent loan, now’s your chance to spend every last penny at one of Scotland’s music festivals. If you’re looking for a poi-filled oasis and have a high tolerance for white-man dreadlocks, give Kelburn Garden Party (29 Jul-2 Jul) a go. If you’re a #lad with a penchant for mostly male line-ups, try TRNSMT Festival, Glasgow Green on 6-8 Jul. Looking for something more intimate and acoustic, and feeling blindly optimistic about your chances of securing a ticket? Head far to the west for the annual Iona Village Hall Music Festival, 30 Jun-2 Jul. August Things were running a bit dry, culture-wise, during August, so we thought we’d just point you towards the single largest arts festival in the human-inhabited universe. Edinburgh Festival Fringe takes place over three weeks this month, coinciding with the Edinburgh International Festival (3-27 Aug), another biggie. There’s also Edinburgh Art Festival, plus Edinburgh International Book Festival, usually cutting the ribbons at mid-August too, and thennnn – oh… would you look at that… it’s September again.

You’ll be clutching a rolled-up degree and fakesmiling your way into the adult world in the blink of an eyelid, so just fucking enjoy yourself, will you?

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Credit: Sonny Ross

Edinburgh Pride

Desert Island Discs After much hand-wringing and self-analysis, here are the records our team chose to accompany them when stranded all alone on a desert island

GZA – Liquid Swords Obviously this isn’t a mood lifter. But the album has had a huge and lasting effect on me. As a film fan, it’s cinematic in scope, theme and imagery; as a bookish type, the Clan, as usual, draw from a vast vocabulary of diverse origins, some of their own making. Liquid Swords is the antidote to all vapid, mainstream, factory-produced music, in sound and lyrical content. So, for that reason, it brightens up my day when I still regularly listen. [Alan Bett] The Beatles – Revolver The album is only 34 minutes long and two-and-a-half of these are spent on Yellow Submarine. While a song about a submarine might seem taunting when surrounded by ocean, I think it’d help keep my mood up. Ringo’s down-to-earth and friendly voice always makes me smile, and it is just hilarious that this track is splashed into the middle of such an iconic album. [Ben Venables] Angel Olsen – My Woman Despite exhaustively listening to it every time I’m walking across town for about six months I’m still not bored of a single track. I think this bodes well if it’s the only thing I’ll be able to listen to indefinitely. That could be due to the fact Olsen’s a brilliant lyricist who sings on behalf of a generation of women wanting to be taken seriously, to be respected and to be given what they deserve – but I secretly like to hope it’s just because Angel and I are kindred spirits. And what’s better on a desert island than a kindred spirit? Just ask Tom Hanks. [Kate Pasola] 12

LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver I listen to it fairly regularly – it lifts me when I’m sad, relieves stress when I’m angry, comforts me when I’m lonely and when I’m happy it’s just the best thing ever to listen to or dance around to. For whatever reason I have an incredibly strong inexplicable connection with this album; I’m glad I found it and I feel like it’s a big part of me. It’s my good day, bad day and everything in between go-to album – I genuinely would feel lost without it. [Tallah Brash] Nelly Furtado – Woah, Nelly!

On a desert island, I’m worried I’d go from Smeagol to Gollum by Sunday. To slow/ soundtrack this realisation of my full loincloth-wearing and wide-eyed potential, I’d go for Nelly Furtado’s Whoa, Nelly! Cos if I’ve got a lot of space to be dancing naked and crying at the same time, I’d like to have year-2000 Furtado’s nasal and precocious pop vox blaring out the maddening crash of the tide. [Adam Benmakhlouf] The Rolling Stones – Tattoo You Since being stranded on a desert island is as good an opportunity as any to ditch all pretence, I’ll go back to my dad-rock roots and pick The Rolling Stones’ Tattoo You. No Use In Crying seems good advice for being lost at sea, Slave has a beachy reggae groove, and Tops is perhaps the Mick Jagger at his most ironic, self-aware best (‘every man is the same come on / I’ll make you a star’). Rock on. [Claire Francis]

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Be Charlotte’s Favourite Gig Venues Charlotte Brimner picks out her favourite live music venues across Dundee, Glasgow and Edinburgh

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oving to a new city can be exciting for many reasons: new people to befriend; a different landscape to get lost in; fresh dancefloors to tear up. But perhaps above all else are the endless opportunites that you get from having a brand new music scene to dig right into. You’ve got a whole swathe of rising acts to discover and an entirely new set of places to try out.

That said, it can be a minefield out there knowing where’s good to go, so we asked innovative young music maker, rapper, beatboxer and all-round badass Charlotte Brimner – aka Be Charlotte – about her favourite gig venues across the country, from intimate dive bars with great sound systems and well-loved, historic buildings right through to the regular haunts of her fellow musicians.

DUNDEE Clarks | North Linsday St The best place to hear live music in Dundee is Clarks. It’s run by Kit, who is a great musician himself, and it’s where all the best songwriters hang out. I love the atmosphere there.

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Reading Rooms | Blackscroft When touring acts come to Dundee this is usually where they play. I’ve seen some amazing shows in there over the years, and I’m really excited to do my first ever home town headline show there in October!

Caird Hall | City Square This is a beautiful and historic venue. It’s not used for contemporary music as much as it should be, but I do know that people are working really hard to make Dundee a vibrant music city once again and this venue will be key to it. I think the launch of Carnival 56 Festival and the V&A are going to put the city back on the musical map, and hopefully we will see more high profile gigs in this great venue.

GLASGOW The Art School | Scott St This is easily my favourite venue to watch live music!

It’s around 500 capacity and has a great sized stage and brilliant sound system. I had the pleasure of playing here at The Tenement Trail festival last year and it was the best!

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Photo: Amy Muir

Be Charlotte

EDINBURGH The Mash House | Hastie’s Close, Guthrie St The Mash House is the best small venue. Similar to King Tuts, it’s the go-to venue for all the cool up-and-coming touring acts.

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut | St Vincent St You only need to look at the list of bands named in the steps to see how important this venue is. The staff are the friendliest you could ever meet, and I’m looking forward to playing my own show there in October. All my favourite artists started out with shows there. At the moment I’m loving Jake Isaac’s album, and he plays Tut’s soon, too!

Sneaky Pete’s | Cowgate This is a tiny wee venue with big personality. It only holds less than 100 but is brilliant for seeing intimate shows. It has a great blend of live music events between 7 and 10pm, and then becomes a regular club venue between 11 and 3am. There are some amazing DJs and bands passing through on the way up!

The Barrowlands | Gallowgate I had the pleasure of supporting Frightened Rabbit there! It is such an iconic venue and it’s no wonder that bands from all over the world want to come and play in the East End of Glasgow. It’s one of the best venues in the entire world.

iambecharlotte.com | @iambecharlotte

Pumarosa

Go and see: Dead Pretties (Pink Kink + Lucia) Sun 1 Oct, 7pm, Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh London’s rising alt-punk trio are joined by Liverpool’s formidable art-pop group Pink Kink and Glaswegian garage-pop artist Lucia at Sneaky’s.

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Photo: Amy Muir

Hunter and the Bear Thu 23 Nov, 7.30pm, Clarks, Dundee Melody rock-driven four-piece who have supported various big names, most notably Eric Clapton on his 2014 UK arena tour.

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Pumarosa 2 Dec, 8.30pm, King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow The mesmeric London five-piece hit up Glasgow following the release of debut album The Witch earlier this year.

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Dance to Your Own Beat Our music editor talks us through her experience of running gigs and clubs, and some of the key people on the Edinburgh and Glasgow music scenes share their words of wisdom

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ecoming a DJ or putting on your own gigs is a dream for a lot of people. It’s something which seems utterly unattainable, but it’s actually quite an easy thing to do. Success rates may of course vary, but the basic premise is simple. Get some friends together. Hire a venue. Make some flyers.

Dance to your own beat. The important thing to remember is everything starts from nothing.

In 2006 I was going through a bit of a ‘What am I doing with my life?’ crisis. I was 24, I’d dropped out of uni (architecture is tough, guys), and had bumbled about working in retail for the previous four years. I was not where I wanted to be. I joined Fresh Air, Edinburgh University’s student radio station as a non-student member and everything slowly but surely started falling into place.

I very quickly found myself helping out on the fundraising team and before I knew it I had booked a big John Peel night at The Bongo Club and it was

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Words: Tallah Brash Illustration: Jamie Allan Shaw

bloody great – I loved organising it all and meeting the bands, and seeing the pay-off on the night was a total thrill. I ended up putting on Metronomy at Cabaret Voltaire as well (nine years ago), also for Fresh Air, which was a great way to learn the ropes.

While at Fresh Air, I met my now excellent friend Craig ‘HP’ Neilson, who like myself was a non-student member. He got up at a general meeting one week to tell everyone in the room that him and two of his pals were putting on a night – This is Music – at Henry’s Cellar Bar. I weaseled my way in and a few weeks later found myself DJing one of their nights. We ended up playing a weekly night at Sneaky Pete’s for years. Sadly, we called it a day a couple of years ago, but I was there right until the end.

Through This is Music I ended up DJing a weekly night at Cabaret Voltaire called Sick Note.

Every week was like an episode of Skins – it was a raucous affair and the bookings courtesy of Nick Stewart (Sneaky Pete’s) and Solen Collet (who was Cab Vol’s booker at the time) were second to none. I ended up on some insane bills playing with the likes of Little Boots, Erol Alkan, Miike Snow and Diplo. DIPLO. In Cab Vol. It was crazy.

Over the years I’ve met a lot of people wanting to get into events/DJing and they all ask me the same questions. “What should I do?” “How should I do it?” Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer and not everyone’s path will be the same.

As Nike famously tell us, ‘just do it’. It will be terrifying, like throwing a party at your flat when you told everyone to come at eight and nobody shows up until nine. Start small and work up. Get to know your local scene. Go to gigs/clubs. Join a society. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Talk to people. It can be awful, but if it works it’s the greatest fucking thing ever.

I no longer actively promote gigs/clubs, so I spoke to some people who do – hopefully their stories and words of wisdom will inspire you to do your own thing.

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Emily Wylde and Rachel Watson: Ghost Girls Society, Glasgow Ghost Girls Society is a Scottish creative collective founded by Emily Wylde and Rachel Watson, who “first met just over a year ago after creeping on each other on Instagram!” Both talented illustrators, they ended up designing posters for friends’ nights and then, after sharing playlists with each other, decided to plan their own night.

Words of wisdom: “Put together a detailed plan before approaching venues. Our advice would be to stick to your guns and create a night that is unique and fun, and don’t be too apprehensive as you’ll learn and improve as you go.” facebook.com/ghostgirlssociety Nick Stewart: Sneaky Pete’s, Edinburgh Nick Stewart used to be a cleaner at Cabaret Voltaire and he now owns and manages one of Edinburgh’s most successful night spots, Sneaky Pete’s, which celebrated its 9th birthday earlier this year.

Words of wisdom: “It’s vital for clubs to take on new promoters with new ideas, so I’m always open to good club proposals. I always want to hear something new, especially from people who feel like the music they love isn’t well represented in clubs. The best way to get my ear is to come into the venue often – it’s our regulars who end up being our DJs, gig and club promoters, and even bar staff. As for gigs, we make sure we’re a cheap place to hire. I think the freedom to fail is important; a lot of the best promoters have had plenty of flops in their careers, especially at the start, so we like to make it easy for promoters to run shows here and learn the ropes.” sneakypetes.co.uk Hannah Currie and Aileen Lynn: MILK, Glasgow Hannah Currie and Aileen Lynn met when they were working together in a student bar in Glasgow.

By hanging around in their local music scene, they were quickly given an opportunity by Flat 0/1 in Glasgow to launch a night there: “We just poured

everything into it – from branding to booking to promo, we obsessed about every little detail. Our main aim was to create a really fun night out.”

Words of wisdom: “For us it’s always been about keeping it super inclusive, fairly small scale and really accessible/cheap – we welcome everyone, we never set unrealistic goals, and we never aim to make money out of it. You’ve got to love doing it – if you’re excited about it, that catches on.” facebook.com/milkglasgow01 Tom Ketley: FLY Club, Edinburgh Tom Ketley was a student when he set up FLY Club, and a lot of his friends were DJs. He saw a gap in the market and a Friday night slot became available at Cabaret Voltaire: “I called the venue, we arranged a meeting, came up with a plan and essentially went for it.” Several years on, and FLY Club now put on some of the biggest nights in Edinburgh, including the FLY Open Air all-dayer in Princes St Gardens.

Words of wisdom: “Just go for it. If it fails because nobody turned up then don’t worry as nobody was there to know how bad it was! No club is full seven nights a week so if you see that one night they are closed or empty, use that to your advantage and tell them that you would like to give it a go, then try to fill the place. Second bit of advice is that it’s not as easy as just making a Facebook event. You really need to have a good base crowd coming from friends, friends of friends, DJ’s friends, and something unique.” facebook.com/flyflyclub1 Adam Skirving: Spiral Oh, Glasgow Spiral Oh is a record label, zine and showcase night which “evolved out of putting on shows for friends’ bands in Glasgow.”

Words of wisdom: “Book the bands you’re excited about, not because they have a buzz about them. Book your friends. Do it to enjoy yourself and don’t get too wrapped up in profit.” facebook.com/spiralohspiral theskinny.co.uk/music

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Guest selector: Theo Kottis Edinburgh’s emerging talent shares the records that have shaped his taste in music Interview: Claire Francis

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heo Kottis is certainly a local talent on the rise – since the release of his debut EP Waiting Game on the Moda Black label in late 2014, he’s already gone on to play alongside the likes of Jamie Jones, Tale Of Us, Seth Troxler and Nicolas Jaar. He shares with us the records that have inspired his burgeoning career.

“The music I’ve chosen to share comes from all stages of my life,” Kottis explains. “Some have stayed with me as favourites but others have formed great memories I often go back to when producing. I’ve kept my list original and raw; my shortlist included some obvious classics, but I delved deeper. I won’t lie that I could have been tempted to opt for 10 songs that show my ‘matured tastes’ to impress the chin strokers – but these are the tracks that mean the most to me, and have influenced and inspired me.”

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here [1975] A timeless album ahead of its time. It’s a tribute to former band member Syd Barrett, who suffered from a mental breakdown. When Pink Floyd were recording the album, Syd appeared at the studio, quietly watching at the back. He was un-recognisable as he had completely shaved his head and eyebrows. Eventually the band realised it was him and were reduced to tears.

I recently watched a documentary about their story and found it fascinating – I got into it and have scoped more and more documentaries since.

I love seeing music being celebrated and explored in such a profound way. The guitar, synth and saxophone sounds throughout the album are beautiful; listening to this when I was younger motivated me to learn to play the guitar. Please listen to this album in its entirety – it is perfection.

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Tame Impala – Lonerism [2012] Tame Impala often get compared to albums from the late 60s and early 70s and I love that. Kevin Parker, the lead singer, also writes and produces all of the tracks; he is a real idol of mine.

He uses a lot of synths and new technology that I can relate to and experiments to recreate sounds of psychedelic rock. I think he is very similar to electronic producers as he doesn’t write a typical verse and chorus, he plays around with the arrangement of tracks.

Brian Eno – Music for Airports [1978] Brian Eno… what a legend! I love his experimental and minimalistic approach to music. I always listen to this album when I can’t sleep, it helps clear my head. The album was designed to ‘defuse the tense, anxious atmosphere of an airport terminal.’ Sometimes when I am travelling to my gigs I’ll get this on and fall asleep on the plane so easily!

CLUBS

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Steve Reich – Music for 18 Musicians [1992] Once I heard this album I couldn’t stop listening to it all the way through, it really grabbed my attention. It’s one of those I can put on in the background when I start working, only to realise by the end I’ve been blissfully unaware of the task at hand.

DJ Shadow – Private Press [2002] Tough choice between this album and his Endtroducing... album. Vivid memories of listening to this when I was younger before I really knew what sampling and being a DJ were. I guess my subconscious knew I was going to end up working in this industry!

Soul Capsule – Lady Science (NYC Sunrise) [1999] The greatest house record written in my opinion – pure beauty. I listen to this and float away, it’s a classic. I closed my set with this at a sold-out O2 Academy Brixton when I supported Paul Kalkbrenner, and I received the biggest applause. Goosebumps!

Tiesto – In Search of Sunrise 6: Ibiza [2007] Maybe this isn’t something I should be admitting to, but aged 15 I was a huge trance fan. None of my friends were interested, but I remember constantly trying to introduce them to this album.

I was so into it. I remember when Tiesto played in Edinburgh in 2007, I was 16 and absolutely gutted as I was too young to go to the gig. Even my mum told me to get a fake ID as she knew how much I loved this album. Funnily enough, the likes of Matthew Dekay were releasing music on this series and his label, All Day I Dream with Lee Burridge, has become one of my current favourites.

St Germain – Rose Rouge [2000] An edit of this has been a regular in most of my sets for the last year. I played this on NYE 2015 in Edinburgh. Kerri Chandler was also on the bill, so I had to pull out all the stops. When he heard me play this, he ran up on the stage and started playing the keys live alongside me. The energy in the club was electric.

I’ll never forget this moment, there was a bond formed and we have stayed in touch since.

Massive Attack – Unfinished Sympathy [1991] I really love string orchestras and they sound perfect on this record. The strings were originally recorded on synths, a technique I use, but they eventually recorded a real orchestra at Abbey Road Studio to emphasise and enhance the sound. I wish I could do that! It was released the year I was born and I love playing an edit that fits in my sets perfectly.

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Moby – Play [1999] Shout out to my aunt for this one. I always used to visit her in Scotland when I visited on summer holidays from Greece. She always had new CDs she would let me borrow. I was eight years old and I remember trying to breakdance to this. Moby made history with this album as it was the first of a kind to license out every single track to an ad, film or TV show. Marketing genius!

Theo plays FLY Open Air Festival in Edinburgh on Sat 23 Sep

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Where Are They Now? We speak to two recent art graduates to find out what they’ve been up to since finishing at uni, and what they have planned for the future

Alice Chandler Alice Chandler studied Sculpture at Edinburgh College of Art and graduated in 2015.

What did you do after graduating?

After graduating, I moved back to my hometown of Leeds and got a graduate internship at Sunny Bank Mills, which was two days a week as gallery assistant and funded by the Arts Council. As part of the internship I got a small studio space as well.

It’s a really small team so the role involved loads of different aspects, which was great. At the same time I got selected for a graduate residency at a space called Assembly House – this was good to meet people and have a focused two months making work.

What have been some of your favourite projects since graduating?

One of my favourite projects after graduating was an exhibition in Norwich with seven other Leeds-based artists called General Studies. We turned the Outpost Gildengate House project space into eight separate artist-designed rooms, available to rent on Airbnb.

What are you up to now?

I’m still based in Leeds and working at Sunny Bank Mills as arts and events coordinator. I work 3-4 days a week and spend the rest of my time in my studio. I have completed several short courses in jewellery and silver smithing and have built up my own jewellery workshop in my studio – I now make and sell silver jewellery as my second job, which I absolutely love. I’m still making art as well and have an exhibition coming up in October in Liverpool at The Trophy Room.

Is there anything in particular you want to do in the future?

In the future I want to keep developing my skills in jewellery making and design – there is so much to learn! I would quite like to go back to uni and do a masters at some point too.

Any advice for current art students?

My advice to current art students would be take advantage of the amazing facilities and equipment and really learn as many skills as you possibly can.

Spend as much time as you can in the studios and organise lots of events and exhibitions. alicechandler.com

2017 – 2018

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Kieran Milne Kieran Milne studied Fine Art at Duncan of Jordanstone and graduated in 2016.

What did you do after graduating?

I stayed in Dundee for the summer but worked various jobs in Edinburgh short term including install technician at Summerhall and with Atlas Arts for their exhibition, NEO NEO// Extreme Past, in the Bothy at Modern One. What have been some of your favourite projects since graduating?

I enjoyed working with Summerhall and Atlas over the summer of 2016 and making new work for the RSA New Contemporaries in 2017. As of writing this I am currently on residency at the Scottish Sculpture Workshop, which has been such a fulfilling experience and has been a huge boon to my practice and skillset.

What are you up to now?

As mentioned before, I’ve been located in Lumsden at the Scottish Sculpture Workshop for the whole of August, but usually I am based in Glasgow and work as a cook at Stereo. I have a studio at Crownpoint in Bridgeton, which I share with my friend Rosie Roberts, who is great!

Is there anything in particular you want to do in the future?

I have my first show coming up in February at The Number Shop in Edinburgh which should be exciting as I will be presenting new work, which I have made while on residency. I would like to keep up my positive momentum and take part in more residencies and group/solo shows (who wouldn’t?).

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Any advice to current art students?

Use the workshops as much as possible because you will regret it if you don’t. Technicians are the lifeblood of art schools, so treat them well because they can teach you so much and have seen it all a hundred times. So shut up and LISTEN! kieranmilne.wordpress.com

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Let’s Talk About Sex It’s no secret that sex education is sorely lacking in the UK, but for LGBTQIA+ people it’s practically nonexistent. It’s time for that to change

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very September, droves of freshly independent young people descend upon universities and colleges across the country. From there on, the potent mix of alcohol and an ongoing pressure to experiment create an atmosphere of sexual availability – and an expectation that you should be having as much sex as possible. Most freshers, however, don’t arrive at uni fully prepared for this sexual marathon; emotionally, practically or otherwise.

Though you might have been subject to ‘The Talk’ from a well-meaning relative, many families deem these topics too taboo for dinner table conversation. Consequently, it’s only really in school

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“ It’s hard to find your niche and feel sexually included within such an exclusionary sex education system”

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Words: Megan Wallace Illustration: Jacky Sheridan (from peers or in dedicated sex ed lessons) that you’re taught about sex. And, while the necessity of contraception is drilled into most by the time they reach Freshers’ week, the sexual education we’re teaching in schools is not up to scratch.

From the rising number of people testing positive for sexual infections, it’s evident that the current system is failing to teach young people about how to protect themselves from STIs. But the problem is much broader than this. When it comes to lessons on consent and LGBTQIA+-specific material, the sex ed curriculum is sorely lacking.

Generally speaking, if you’re successfully protecting yourself from STIs and/or pregnancy, you’re deemed to be within ‘safe sex’ territory.

But what if you (or other participants) are being subjected to unwanted aggressive or coercive behaviour? In terms of mental health, an experience with someone who makes you feel vulnerable or uncomfortable is profoundly unsafe sex. Our idea of what constitutes safe sex needs to move towards a perspective that accommodates emotional wellbeing. For that, we need to be taught about consent, and about how to respect the boundaries of prospective partners.

We could achieve this by restructuring the way sexual education is taught in schools; the fact that sex is still something of a taboo has led to a scarcity of user-friendly information – not just on STIs, contraception and abortions, but on issues surrounding consent, slut-shaming and abuse.

Covering such issues within the classroom would give new generations the tools to effectively navigate the maelstrom of emotions that sex can conjure.

What’s more, we need to give young LGBTQIA+ people the sexual education they deserve.

LGBTQIA+ representation and resources are so lacking that it can be a struggle to know how to act on your sexual impulses or to see yourself as desirable. It’s hard to find your niche and feel sexually included within such an exclusionary sex education system.

The move into the more LGBTQIA+ friendly environment of university can lead to more reckless sexual behaviour, particularly due to the 2017 – 2018

lack of sexual health information catering to individuals who are not heterosexual or cisgender. What’s more, asexual students often find that the pressure to be seen to be having sex can make expressing their own preferences difficult.The sexual experiences of LGBTQIA+ people are completely different to hetero and cis sex. Only covering the challenges, risks and emotional impacts of straight, cis sexual partners is a dangerous disservice to a large portion of young people.

“ Only covering the challenges, risks and emotional impacts of straight, cis sexual partners is a dangerous disservice to a large portion of young people” To help combat these problems, there must be an onus on educational authorities to come up with accessible, comprehensive resources for the LGBTQIA+ population. Including these materials in the curriculum would work to present sexuality and gender as a spectrum of different identities, removing the stigma and the need to explicitly ‘come out’.

After all, if sex education aren’t enabling all young people to have sex as safely and as responsibly as possible, then frankly, what’s the point?

Find more resources online at: sexpression.org.uk | shoutout.ie impactprogram.org | onlywithconsent.org/support

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Wahaca

Big Deals Because in the world of food and drink, your student card can only get you so far…

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dinburgh and Glasgow’s food scenes are in great health – brilliant cuisines from all over the world, great coffee, amazing craft beers and spirits, plus you can get pizzas so big that they barely fit in the back seat of a car. You are studying in good times, friends. The only issue is that things can get a bit pricy, as all those old-timey lightbulbs and thick bartending aprons won’t pay for themselves. It’s alright though, there are things you can do. Deals can be struck. In the words of German dance-rap sensations Snap!, you’ve got the power.

First things first, make the most of your student card. Seriously, wave it in the face of everyone you see, and just wait for them to offer you money off something. It usually works, and the worst that’s going to happen is you might look like an ignorant if well-meaning consumer. Frankly, that’s about as good as any of us get, so bash on.

But the thing about the conventional student discount is it can only really knock a few pence off here and there. What you need are those deals that can knock dirty great chunks off your bill in one fell swoop. Your granny probably told you to “look after the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves”; we’re here to tell you that the pennies are dealt with, now let’s get cheap tacos. CHA-CHING WOOP WOOP PARTY TIME. We’ll start with the tacos, actually. At Wahaca’s outpost in the middle of Edinburgh, the Taco Tuesday deal makes your first plate of tacos just £1, and while you will need to buy a second plate

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Words: Peter Simpson to get the deal, you’ll then basically have two plates of tacos for the price of one. We’re into it.

There’s a similar deal (pay £1, get tacos) on offer at Topolabamba in Edinburgh and Glasgow, plus they’ll do you a burrito, and fries, and a margarita for £10 from Sunday to Thursday.

If you’re partial to a nice coffee but love the joy of getting things stamped, the good news is that many of Edinburgh and Glasgow’s indy coffee shops have their own loyalty scheme. The even better news is that seven of the capital’s best have started something different, dubbed The Disloyal 7. Get a coffee in each of Fortitude, Brew Lab, Cult, Filament, Lowdown, Baba Budan and Cairngorm, and you’ll have enough stamps for a freebie at your favourite. You will also be up to the eyeballs in caffeine, so maybe space things out a little.

Say you want to play the hotshot for the evening – impress a date, celebrate scraping through an exam, piss off the rich twats in your Macroeconomics seminar. Chop House serve up some of the best steaks in Edinburgh, but they can hit the upper end of the budget quickly.

However, their Steak & Sides deal will get you two brilliant rump steaks and a pair of sides for just £30 at their Leith branch every Wednesday. While you’re at it, get yourself on their newsletter list to find out about the complimentary monthly cocktail masterclasses at their Market Street spot. That’s free cocktails, people. FREE. Simpler pleasures also abound if you know where to go. Soul Sushi in Edinburgh’s Southside sell off the day’s remaining rolls and maki for half-

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price in the half-hour before they close, so ideal if you’ve been stuck in the library all night. If you’re bumbling between lectures in Glasgow and need genuine sustenance, Babu Bombay Street Kitchen on West Regent Street will set you right with their lunch deal. Curry, rice or bread and a side for under £6, and the brilliant opportunity to make everyone around you green with food envy.

Similar deal over at Korean aces Kimchi Cult! just round the corner from the Glasgow Uni library, where £6.50 gets you either a filled bao and fries or a incredible-looking bibimbap (stone bowl filled with rice and assorted other goodies), plus a drink.

And don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten about the veggies and vegans. On Chewsdays (gold star to whoever came up with that one) over at The 78 opposite Kelvingrove Park, your student discount on the ace vegan scran goes up to a solid 20%, while The Hug and Pint offer the cunningly-titled Eat Everything deal that’ll get you a shot at everything on the menu for £15 each.

Saint Luke’s and the Winged Ox just round the corner from the Barrowlands serve up twofor-one burgers and pizzas every Monday alongside classic film screenings, and offer 30% off food and drink every Tuesday if you get one of their loyalty

cards, plus a main and a pint for just £7.50. Bloc on Bath Street, however, may well be the king of the situational food and drink offer seeing as they have a different one on the go each weekday.

Monday is pasta night (mac ‘n’ cheese for just £3), a burger (meat or veggie) and fries is just £3 every Tuesday, and there’s way-cheap fried chicken on Thursday and hotdogs on Fridays. On Wednesdays, though, you can get a steak and sides for five actual pounds. Five. Count ‘em.

Another deal worth checking out, and one available at either end of the M8, is Bar Soba’s eclectic pan-Asian lunch menu. Grab a small plate (your tempura aubergine, your hot and sour glazed chicken wing), and a main (crispy pork and rice, katsu chicken burger, Pad Thai etc), and still wobble out into the afternoon sun with change from a tenner.

And because sometimes all you want is a cheap pizza to help you bash through that Tuesday afternoon slump, Dough in Edinburgh serve up half-price pies until 4pm each weekday. Ideally located about five minutes’ walk from Pollock Halls, let their delicious wood-fired crusts be an eternal reminder that a hangover never truly defeated anyone. Loads of cheap great food and drink and a genuine life lesson – the next four years are like this the entire time. Honest.

Chop House

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Five Ways with Gin Put down the paint-stripper vodka and value mixer! There is a better way...

Words: The Gin Journey

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aking cocktails at home doesn’t mean an extended spirit list or the trendiest shaker in town. Using kitchen utensils to balance flavours, jam jars to shake and knowing that ice moulds aren’t just for the back of your freezer (they are for life), could turn you into a top mixologist in no time!

We’ve asked Leon Dalloway (aka The Gin Boss) and Cocktail Kate of The Gin Journey – a sort of classy gin-centric bar crawl, if you will – for five of their best student-friendly alternatives.

First up: you’ll need a basic sugar syrup recipe, which is a ratio of 2:1 sugar and boiling water.

“Best to make a bottle and pop it in the fridge,” suggests Kate. “Grab a bag of sugar, a measuring jug and whack the kettle on. The rule to this is to always add double sugar to that of water. For example, measure 300g sugar and add 150ml boiling water to it. Stir it ‘til is goes clear, put it in the fridge, give it a shake before you want to use it and bingo: you’ve got sugar syrup for days.”

Jamble 1 tsp of blackcurrant jam (have a go with other jam flavours, too!)

25ml lemon juice (we go fresh here; none of that Jif shite) 10ml sugar syrup 50ml gin

The Cordial Collins 25ml lemon juice 12.5ml cordial of choice 50ml gin Shake and pour everything into a tall glass, and top with soda.

“You can grab whatever cordial takes your fancy in the shops – again, the better quality the cordial the better your cocktail will be,” Kate adds. “Bottle Green elderflower is the ultimate winner with this and the Belvoir ginger is outrageous! If you wanna make it a bit cheaper, just ▶ make a sugar syrup in a pan and add whatever you want to it – grate fresh ginger, orange zest or some blackberries, for instance. Just remember to sieve it before you stick it in the fridge.”

Southside 25ml lime 12.5ml sugar syrup 6-8 mint leaves 50ml gin

“Using jam in a cocktail instead of fresh fruit means it lasts longer, you can use less sugar, you can whack it on some toast when you need a carb fix the next day AND you can use the jar as your cocktail shaker for a hipster twist to your tool kit!” says Kate.

Fill shaker with ice and shake until it’s really, REALLY cold. Pour out into a tumbler or short glass and enjoy.

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“This is a fun twist on the 80s classic, The Bramble,” Kate explains. “The key with jam in a cocktail is to buy a decent jam; scrimping on this ingredient could leave your cocktail too sweet and lumpy. A good ‘Finest’ will do the trick.”

Shake and double strain, and serve up with no ice. Garnish with a mint leaf.

“Think a real classy gin Mojito for this one,” Kate says. “It’s my ultimate fave right now. For the double strain, just use a sieve or a tea strainer.

The idea is to prevent those little pieces of mint sticking to your teeth, which doesn’t look good when you’re holding the room with your newfound bartending skills!”

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Cocktail Kate

Bees Knees 20ml lemon juice 15ml honey water (mix one part honey with one part warm water) 50ml gin Grab that jam jar again, fill it with ice, pour the liquid in, give it a shake, double strain and serve with a lemon zest.

“Serve it in the poshest glass you’ve got, preferably a Martini glass or coupette,” Leon advises. “Make sure you chill the glass with ice first so it’s nice and cool, just like warming the plates but the other way round.”

Pimp My G&T “So a G&T can be anything you want it to be,” explains Leon. “It can be a late night blend of crap gin with chemical flavoured tonic in a murky glass with no ice. Does the job, I suppose. But it can be elevated to a whole new level.”

Here are Leon’s tips on how exactly you can do that – without breaking the bank, obvs.

Fill the glass with good ice “As Cocktail Kate mentioned before invest in a top notch ice mould ice tray and your drinks will keep their quality for longer than ever,” Leon says. “The more ice the colder your drink stays, therefore less dilution therefore a better drink for longer.

Use a decent glass “You know those posh wine glasses that look too fancy for the £3.99 Jacob’s Creek rosé you’ve just bought? Well whack a G&T in it and call it Spanish style. Bueno.”

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Use tasty gin “Not all delicious gin has to stitch up the student loan. My recommendations for gins that are a little cheaper but still brilliantly beautiful are: Plymouth Gin, Hayman’s London Dry, Beefeater London Dry, Portobello 171 or Tanqueray Export Strength (forget that Aldi nonsense, clickbait heaven that was.)”

The tonic is just as important as the gin “Fever-Tree are on point and you can grab it from most supermarkets too.”

Add bitters “A little dash of flavoured bitters perks the G&T right up. Peach bitters are my go to to make anything tastier. You can also use liqueurs, cordials, syrups. Anything that’s lying around that will up the game.”

Finally, garnish well “We don’t use straws on the Gin Journeys as we’re all about trying to cut down the size of our carbon footprint, but garnishes are a must. Top tip is to grab some rosemary from a garden close by. It grows everywhere throughout suburbs and cities.

Give it a slap and pop it in your drink sticking out so it smells insane.”

50ml of gin to 150ml of tonic (1:3 ratio) Drink with style and grace. instagram.com/ginjourney twitter.com/cocktailkate55 | instagram.com/cocktailkate55 twitter.com/TheGinBoss | instagram.com/theginboss

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At Souq Edinburgh, we bring the Middle East to you. A stunning array of hand crafted Turkish & Moroccan lights as well as ceramics, leather goods, sweets, and gifts from the region, adorn our loaded Souq shelves.

The owners of the well loved Hanam’s, Pomegranate and Laila’s restaurants also bring you their atmospheric Arabic cafe in the basement of Souq for that authentic market place experience.

57-59 South Clerk Street, EH8 9PP souq-edinburgh.com info@souq-edinburgh.com 01316676601 @souqedinburgh /souqedinburgh

2017 – 2018

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Shitfaced & Interesting Using alcohol to relax in social situations is deemed normal in Britain, but as social anxiety plagues a generation of digital natives, drinking can quickly become a crutch. It’s time to talk about it Words: Kate Pasola Illustration: Louise French

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chool discos were the highlight of my pre-teen years. I was an extrovert with a bedroom full of glittery platforms and a heart full of Avril Lavigne song lyrics; those Fridays spent necking Panda Pops and performing worryingly accurate Pussycat Dolls choreography were made for me.

There was only one problem – without fail, every time my parents dropped me off I’d be momentarily paralysed by a fizzy dread in the pit of my belly. What if that girl in the year above rolled her eyes at something I was wearing again? What if I was asked out and dumped in the space of a Scooter song again? Those trivial flickers of nervous energy were the start of a mild anxiousness that stuck with me for over a decade, through high school house parties and Freshers’ ice breakers; graduation balls and professional networking events. A tiny little voice that grew over a decade into a distracting bellow: “But what if you make a tit of yourself?” It was only recently that I learned this feeling has a title: social anxiety.

My anxiousness is comparatively mild, and when I’ve found a nice seat and a friendly pal it often dissipates – though it can be reactivated instantly by a side-eye or faux-pas. For those occasions there are remedies: escaping with the smokers into the night air, an unnecessary trip to the human-free environs of a toilet cubicle or deciding I urgently need to check my phone. But the best remedy I’ve found? Alcohol. The greatest, tastiest and most unsustainable of social lubricants.

There is no more bountiful a place for discussion of this matter, and the mental health of young people generally, than YouTube. It was Savannah Brown who posted one of the first vlogs discussing alcohol within the context of anxiety. An awkwardly charismatic poet and vlogger from Ohio,

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Brown released a video called ‘alcohol & anxiety’, charting her growing reliance on alcohol within social interactions since her first drink at the age of 16. “Drinking made me feel normal for the first time. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, is this how everyone feels in social situations?’... When I’m drunk it’s like, ‘talking to people is the most fun thing I could do right now’, which is so unlike me.”

“ A tiny little voice that grew over a decade into a distracting bellow: “But what if you make a tit of yourself?”

She goes on to explain a short period of time where she’d take a flask of alcohol when she had social plans, “because I was like, ‘I’m not gonna be able to talk to this person if I’m not a little bit tipsy,’ which is so messed up”.

Hearing Brown’s familiar tale of tipsiness transforming an intimidating social situation, I wondered whether my own use of alcohol as a social crutch could mutate into a bigger problem, especially as I progress through life; taking on bigger responsibilities, attending more nerve-racking events

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and parties, trying to impress hypothetical in-laws.

I’ve never talked or written about this before because doing so feels self-indulgent, like I’m exaggerating a minor issue. But really, it’s a problem.

We tend to view mental health and alcoholism as a binary; you suffer from mental health problems or you don’t, you’re an alcoholic or you’re not. While it’s important not to trivialise the struggles of those with severe mental health 2017 – 2018

problems and substance dependencies, there’s an area between that we’re failing to discuss. This silence and absence of solutions is a problem for those with mild mental health challenges, for those developing unhealthy alcohol habits, and doubly so for those addressing their mental health problems with alcohol – perhaps without even realising.

If you need help with dependency or addiction, visit mind.org.uk for support and guidance.

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Photo: Chris Scott

Is Crowdfunding the Only Way to Fund a Theatre Show?

Words: Amy Taylor

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on other, often overstretched, alternatives.

Cabaret performer Anya Anastasia explains that crowdfunding formed just one part of her finances. “Crowdfunding is actually just one aspect of what I’m doing to raise funds for this tour. I have still applied for multiple grants, and held fundraising evenings.”

Asha Obsorne Grinter, the 18-year-old producer, director and founder of Mixtape Theatre believes that crowdfunding was the most accesWhy crowdfund?

For Kate Austen of London-based Doughnut Pro- sible option following previous funding rejections.

“We applied to a range of grants, but we didn’t ductions, crowdfunding was initially not something entirely fulfil the criteria of many grants due to that she wanted to do. “I’ll be the first to stick up my hand and say I’ve rolled my eyes at other people’s our age/lack of ‘adults’ and facilitators, and despite not being a registered company, we are not part campaigns in the past whether that be for their own shows or for fundraising to go to drama school. of a charity either,” she begins.

“Living in London, there is such great compeIt wasn’t an easy decision to make,” she explains. tition for grants in my area that my show was overDespite her initial reluctance, she readily admits that crowdfunding has allowed her to per- looked in terms of council grants because there form at the Fringe this year, something that wouldn’t is very little funding for the arts in my borough.

I attempted to apply for a grant from the Arts have been possible otherwise.

“We wouldn’t have been able to go. We would Council, but this too was very time consuming and geared towards more established companies have probably had to fund it out of our own than my own.” pockets and that’s not feasible for the team at Jemima Foxtrot is a performance poet and the this point in time.” writer of Unholy Mess’s Above the Mealy Mouthed Sea. The piece not only acquired funding, but was Are there other sources of also developed with Omnibus Theatre. Because of funding available? this, Foxtrot believes that collaboration between There are always options for funding available, theatre companies is vital. but arts funding is competitive and under huge “We were lucky enough to receive enough pressure from government cuts. Applications can Arts Council funding for the development of the take weeks, if not months, to be approved. In show as well as for a small national tour. We are addition, the amount of funding available and the also associate artists at Omnibus Theatre, who type of project that could be eligible varies according to location. This, coupled with budget support us with rehearsal space, marketing and cuts and strict rules, often leaves artists reliant PR, all of which are invaluable to us.” he cost of performing – especially at festivals like the Fringe – can be incredibly high, with venue hire, accommodation and travel all adding to the financial burden. Because of this, more and more acts are turning to crowdfunding to utilise their existing fan base and lessen the financial hit.

So, for the modern artist, why is crowdfunding becoming so popular?

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Ask Auntie Trash: Who Can I Be Now? It’s a few years in the future. You’ve just submitted your dissertation and have no idea what you want to do with your life. Our resident agony aunt shares some pearls of wisdom for when your uni days are done Illustration: Stephanie Hoffmann

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know who you are now. You’re a badass motherfucker who finished their course. Well done on getting through university. Fucking well done on writing and submitting your dissertation by the deadline. I have no doubt that the last few months have been really hard work for you and all your classmates, so fuck yes, you did it! Celebrate! Get pissed! Have a well-earned nap!

You’ve come to the point in your life where you’ve hit another one of The Great What Nows?

That period you’ve been working towards for months, maybe even years. The taught classes are over, everything’s been handed in, and you find yourself wondering, “What the fuck am I going to do now?” It’s pretty terrifying.

I mean, it’s horrendously terrifying. Especially if you dare to see what your classmates are doing.

Oh look, one’s just landed an amazing internship.

And over there, another is preparing to move to another city to start their very first job in their chosen industry. Meanwhile, on Instagram, everyone else seems to be really happy, totally gorgeous, and having no problems at all.

It’s a lie. All of it. Nobody knows what the fuck they are doing, just like you. They’re probably agonising over what Instagram filters to use. Or fighting with their flatmates, or splitting up with their partners because now university has finished, they have to face their problems. So, don’t worry about them, worry about YOU. What is it that you want? I’m not talking about jobs, or future plans; what is it that you want right now that you can achieve? Look at your CV? Think about internships? How about just meet up with some friends and actually talk? What about going on holiday? It’s important to give yourself room to breathe and relax. University, while fun, takes its toll, and that’s why, now that it’s over, you absolutely have to listen to yourself, your body, and your mind. If you feel tired, rest. If you feel lonely, reach out and see a friend.

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Also, yes, you can listen to what your family have to say, but you don’t have to follow it, it’s your life. They can have opinions about your life choices, and what not, but you make the final decision. Be polite, smile, thank them for their advice and then go forth and live your life in the best way that you deem fit.

Not a lot of people work in the same industry as the course they originally studied, and that’s fine. Just because you majored in whatever doesn’t mean you will always work in whatever. Embrace the change, experiment.

You’re probably going to feel a lot more fear in the coming months – that’s normal. Feel it, but don’t let it control you. See fear you’re experiencing as a way of your mind telling you to be careful.

I was once in your position, and I know how it feels, but please remember to be kind to yourself.

Never forget how far you have come, and always, always take the time out to rest when you need it.

In undying love and solidarity, Yer wee pal, Trashy xxx Bachelor of Arts, Master of Science (bitch) [pending] Auntie Trash solves your problems every month in The Skinny

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How to be socially involved at uni Here’s your how-to guide for getting involved at university Words: Toby Sharpe Illustration: Jacky Sheridan

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o, it’s freshers, and you’re a hopeful person.

Maybe you love the environment and want to bandage its wounds. Perhaps you’re aware that the world is a flaming pile of excrement right now, and you’re keen to try to change that. There’s a lot that needs doing: 2017’s a mess.

Work out what appeals You could join a political movement, volunteer locally, work in social justice groups, teach and learn skills in societies or fight to clean up our environment. Do your research, and remember that lots of these groups can overlap, and that you don’t have to devote yourself to a single cause wholeheartedly forever. It’s okay to ponder where you’ll be a good fit – or to not be great at world-saving in your first week.

When you’ve found out what needs doing, join in This sounds obvious, but many freshers panic and don’t rush in – or show up at university ready to start their own political revolution, not realising there are already societies doing the same work, but better. Don’t assume that you have the answers immediately. And hey, you’ll probably make some friends while you’re at it (I know I did).

If you’re not the loudest, that’s cool; hard work is what matters, not booming vocals.

Don’t be a terrible ally Treat people with respect. Guys: don’t yell at feminists, telling them what you think women should be up to on campus. Listen. Learn. When people respect that you’re not a monster, you might be able to help.

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Don’t lose heart when things are hard As many adults will tell you at the drop of a hat: life is hard. Change happens glacially – but it happens because people make it happen.

Don’t forget the small stuff While it’s cool to work on complex projects, make sure you’re being a good person in your local community. Give money to charity every so often, don’t treat homeless people like trash, read up on how to not offend minorities around you, and when you have a spare can of beans knocking around, work out where your nearest food bank is.

“ If you’re not the loudest, that’s cool; hard work is what matters, not booming vocals” On that note – keep yourself alive, kid Self-care is important, silly though it sometimes sounds. You can’t fix the world if you’re collapsing.

Take the occasional bath (if you can find one in Student-Land). Eat vegetables. Sleep. Don’t spend all your time studying and fighting crime.

Get involved in student politics Most universities have student unions, and there are elections all the damn time, just waiting for you. Some folk find student politics tedious,

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imagining that it’s just a breeding ground for future career politicians. Others consider it useless – a game of play-pretend for pretentious students. Think about it more simply: student unions have money that needs to be spent: decide where it goes! If you get involved, you have a say in whether there’s good, cheap food at uni venues, in union-wide charitable endeavours, or in pressuring local landlords to treat students like humans, not furniture. Some student unions have done amazing work recently, from redirecting

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significant investments away from fossil fuels, to giving contraceptives and sanitary products away for free. That work wasn’t done by magic: it was done by students’ hard graft.

And hey, maybe you should ignore me. If you have a great idea you can start it yourself, but you gotta get people on board. Don’t be a lone wolf. If you want to shape the university, help the local community, and better the experience of students around you, you must first get involved with the people around you.

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Film School Daze

Some simple but stunning short films made by directors who’d go on to be famous, to give you inspiration as you embark on a career in film. Or maybe you’re just after something fun to watch while hungover. Either way, these shorts are for you Words: Jamie Dunn

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o you’ve landed a place at film school and you’re looking for inspiration. You’d do worse to learn from these seven early shorts by master filmmakers. There are no gimmicks, computer wizardry or flashy plotting here, just simple but vivid filmmaking where image and atmosphere is key.

Lick the Star (dir. Sofia Coppola) There’s no mistaking Lick the Star as anything but a Sofia Coppola movie, and from the very first frame it’s clear we’re in the hands of a born filmmaker.

Many of the Lost in Translation director’s later stylistic and thematic obsessions are here: teen alienation, a dreamy aesthetic, detached voiceover, a killer soundtrack. The ethereal film follows a group of high school girls who take inspiration from Virginia Andrews’ Flowers in the Attic and plan to feed rat poison to the less enlightened boys in their grade. Things go awry when a game of Chinese whispers drives a wedge between the clique, leaving its effortlessly cool leader isolated and doleful. In less than 14 minutes, Lick the Star is more perceptive about the cruelty of high-school mores than most 90s teen movies combined.

Small Deaths (dir. Lynne Ramsay) Few filmmakers can place you within the headspace of a character like Lynne Ramsey, and this evocative tryptic from the Scottish filmmaker suggests she’s had this canny knack from when she first picked up a camera. Like her brilliant feature debut, Ratcatcher, Small Deaths is a child’s eye view of working class Glasgow, set in and around its run down tenements and the wild patches of nature found on the city’s outskirts. The deaths here are mostly figurative but the emotions are palpably real, told through arresting imagery and Ramsey’s spellbinding use of texture, colour, sound and point of view that creates a rich, almost overpowering sensory experience.

Bottle Rocket (dir. Wes Anderson) Looking back at this 1999 short, it’s exciting to see what a zesty filmmaker Wes Anderson was before his style calcified towards the fastidious with pictures like The Royal Tenenbaums and The Grand Budapest Hotel, where vitality was sacrificed for pedantic detail. Shot in grainy 16mm black and white, The French New Wave seems to be the chief

Peluca (dir. Jared Hess) The DNA for Jared Hess’ Napoleon Dynamite is all here in this offbeat eight minute short. Peluca takes place in the same setting (Hess’s hometown of Preston, Idaho); it features Jon Heder as Seth, who’s basically identical to the eponymous doofus he plays in the later feature; and it trades in the same gentle absurdity. After a quick introduction to Seth’s school life – eccentric behaviour, merciless bullying, tall tales, terrible meals – the action moves to a thrift store when Seth and his two friends play hooky to go fanny pack and wig shopping. Like in Napoleon Dynamite, Hess is both poking fun at his nerdy hero and paying tribute to his innate individuality and kindheartedness – the latter a quality all too rarely celebrated in cinema.

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Wasp

THE SKINNY

Two Cars, One Night

influence for this loose-limbed heist caper about two best friends (played by brothers Luke and Owen Wilson – the latter also co-wrote) on a low-octane crime spree. For his debut feature, Anderson extended this short into a cheerful road movie with the same title, throwing in James Caan and a sweet romantic angle, and the result is just as delightfully idiosyncratic and breezy as this 12 minute effort.

Wasp (dir. Andrea Arnold) Social realism doesn’t get more vivid than in the cinema of Andrea Arnold. Her skill with actors, framing and expressive imagery – obvious in her extraordinary features like Red Road and Fish Tank – are all abundant here in the filmmaker’s breakthrough short Wasp. The film centres on a young, penniless single mother with four kids, who thinks she’s found a shaft of light in her life when an old flame asks her for a drink out of the blue. Shot hand-held by Robbie Ryan, who’s lensed all of Arnold’s films, it’s an unblinking but deeply humanistic look at modern life on a British council estate. Ryan’s roaming camera gets intimately close to the actors, and Arnold’s deeply humanistic eye keeps us invested in her characters, even when they act unconscionably. Remarkably, Arnold also coaxes a nuanced performance from Danny Dyer, who plays a raffish jack-the-lad who gets the young mum’s heart all aflutter.

The Letter (dir. Michel Gondry) By the time skew-whiff cinema genius Michel Gondry made The Letter, he had a few dozen wildly original music videos under his belt, including his iconic promo for Daft Punk’s Around The World.

His first stab at a narrative film is no less inventive.

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It begins simply enough with two brothers having a hushed late night chat about love, French kissing and the possibility of the end of the world as the millennium approaches. Gondry’s gift for loopy fantasy is showcased later when the younger brother – a budding photographer who’s keen on photographing one girl in particular – dreams of himself as a human camera attending a turn-ofthe-millennium party where the Y2K apocalypse is symbolised by a toppling Eiffel Tower made of card and sticky-backed plastic. For all its surreal flights of fancy, The Letter’s study of puppy love is as potent and heartfelt as in Gondry’s masterpiece, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Two Cars, One Night (dir. Taika Waititi) Taika Waititi is beloved for films like Boy, Hunt for the Wilderpeople and hilarious vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows, but this gorgeous 11 minute short is still the Kiwi filmmaker’s finest achievement thus far. The setup is simple: three kids – all played by local school children with no acting experience – are idling away the night in two cars parked outside a pub where they’ve been left while their parents are having a few drinks. In one of the cars are two adolescent brothers, in the other, a young girl.

Initially, there’s animosity between the parties (“Don’t look over here. Your ugly face might damage my paintwork,” says the older boy to the girl). But like kids do, they’re fast friends before the night is out. The film is funny and sweetly romantic, but what really marks it out is its balmy mood. It captures the atmosphere of those warm summer nights of childhood that seem to last forever.

You can watch all these shorts at theskinny.co.uk/film

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Day trips Scotland Time to get up off your arse and out of the flat: there's a whole world out there, even for you students

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t uni you’ll spend many a drunken evening hatching grand plans for the future, slurring to each other that, yes, a stroll in the countryside is exactly what you need – in fact, why not tomorrow? At 9am? Yes. Blow out the hangover cobwebs with a huge country walk. What a good idea.

But while you eventually realise the timings may be a little too ambitious, some of the ideas don’t have to be as far-fetched as they seem in your hungover haze. Let’s just be realistic about when’s best to seize the day, shall we?

Edinburgh The seaside town of North Berwick is easy to get to by train from Edinburgh; the journey only takes around half an hour from Waverley station and costs as little as £6.90 for a return ticket. Here you’ll find a lovely café run by Steampunk Coffee, as well as an amazing bakery called Bostock (as featured in an issue of Good Food mag a few years back), a crab shack and, not least, a beach from which you can gaze upon celebrated bird shitcovered rock, the Bass Rock. In short, it’s all very nice. Go. Portobello is another beach location that’s easy to get to – another 30 minutes from the city centre, though this time by bus from Princes St or London Road. It’s also an easy cycle along the North Edinburgh bike paths and sea front, or down the Innocent Railway path if you’re coming from the Southside. There’s an outpost of favourite Edinburgh coffee and pastry shop Twelve Triangles, while on the beach itself there’s an art walk called Art Crawl Porty. Plus, there are arcades where you can go and play penny slots for a cheap and cheerful afternoon out. Head a bit further along the coast and you’ll find Musselburgh, home to local favourite ice cream from S. Luca’s.

If it’s beaches you’re into (and why wouldn’t you be?), there’s also Cramond Beach, Gullane Beach and tonnes more to check out around Edinburgh. If you like hills and feeling, albeit briefly, like you’re in the real life countryside, you can climb to the top of Arthur’s Seat – only around an hour round trip.

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Millport

Glasgow Millport, OBVS, aka the town on the island of Great Cumbrae off the coast of North Ayrshire – and something of a Scottish paradise. Get the train from Glasgow Central to Largs (£8.10, 1 hour) then take the ferry (£3.20, 10 minutes) over the one mile stretch of water to the Isle of Cumbrae.

Bring a bike or hire one from Mapes in the town of Millport then cycle round the island, stopping to admire their many weirdly painted and occasionally problematic rocks. On your return stop in Nardini’s for an elaborate ice cream.

The Time Capsule in Coatbridge is just a 15 minute train ride from Glasgow Queen Street. Here you’ll learn about the evolution of man through the medium of swimming pools as you journey from the primordial soup all the way to the space age in a series of wave machines, bubble pools and flumes.

Head next door for some ice skating on a rink that historically featured a woolly mammoth, with a skate and swim coming in at £12.35.

TRAVEL

THE SKINNY

Loch Katrine

From Glasgow you can also take the train to Callendar, which is in the actual Highlands, and from there walk up Ben Ledi or cycle around Loch Katrine. There are countless walking and bike routes around the Trossachs, so plenty of scope for future adventures, too.

Pollok Park on Glasgow’s Southside in a more central escape option – get the train to Shawlands, Pollokshaws or Crossmyloof and walk. It’s a 146 hectare piece of countryside right in the heart of the city, home to the Burrell Collection and Pollok House. Also a herd of Highland Coos. There are mountain bike tracks and walks, a river, cultivated gardens and areas of wilderness. And a farm, naturally. It feels very far from the urban centre.

Dundee If you’re based in Dundee, you can head for a really nice day out to Tentsmuir near Leuchars, which is across the bridge to Fife. There’s a forest, 2017 – 2018

a beaut beach and an old derelict weather station, along with some eerie old army bunkers to explore around. It costs about three quid return on the bus (approximately a 35-minute journey on the 42/53 bus) and is a nice wilderness spot outside of the city for picnics and walking.

Broughty Ferry is a short bus journey away and is great for a beach day out, posh charity shops, a pilgrimage to Lorraine Kelly’s house and most importantly, incredible gelato and stracciatella soup at family-run Italian restaurant, deli and gelaterie Visocchi’s.

You can also attempt the mammoth steep walk up to the Law monument, visible from literally everywhere in Dundee, for great views, nice woodland bit and you can try to find the Law tunnel entrance which is an abandoned railway tunnel to the base of the Law hill. theskinny.co.uk/travel

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1 | Nice ’n’ Sleazy

421 Sauchiehall St | @nice_n_sleazy

Sleazy’s remains home to some of the city’s most intelligent, open-minded gig bookers, who regularly hand the stage over to acts that others would barely consider music. Upstairs, it’s a lair of super-cheap White Russians and eavesdropping on notable Glasgow musicians.

2 | Broadcast

427 Sauchiehall St | 0141 332 7304

Juggling both established acts and underground local talent like only a Glasgow music venue could, Broadcast usually has a pretty eclectic line-up. Shows take place downstairs, and the charm of Broadcast’s upper floor lies in its tasty stonebaked pizza.

CCA

3 | CCA

4 | O2 ABC

A multi-functioning arts venue which puts on quite the magnificent spread of contemporary film, music, performance and the odd painting too. It hosts a programme of exhibitions every year, houses the Aye Aye bookshop, and provides studio and gallery space for artists and offices for a host of ‘cultural tenants’.

Originally home to the country’s first cinema, the ABC has become one of Scotland’s toppest notch gig venues. Well, two of Scotland’s toppest notch gig venues, actually. There’s the delightful Art Deco main hall, and a smaller ABC2 which comes complete with an intimate, clubby vibe.

350 Sauchiehall St | @cca_glasgow

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300 Sauchiehall St | @02ABC

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9 | The Butterfly and the Pig 153 Bath St | @ButterflyAndPig

Glasgow Film Theatre

Credit: Thomas Douglas

Almost like visiting your granny’s: think mismatched, cloud-like couches and huge portions of homemade food. Pop round for a tasty lunch with a slice of indulgence for afters, or go the whole hog and hit the champagne-drenched afternoon tea. Whole hog, see? Hog. Oh forget it.

5 | The Art School 20 Scott St | @artschool_

A certified staple on Glasgow’s student clubbing scene, the Art School Union is not your run-of-themill union. After extensive refurbishment, it has re-established itself as a cultural and clubbing powerhouse in the heart of Glasgow, regularly serving up nights of dynamic, ambitious and creative student hedonism.

6 | The Project Café

134 Renfrew Street | @theproject_cafe

The Project Café serves up a feast of tasty, conscience-friendly food with a side order of creative invigoration. There’s always something going on, be it an exhibition, a gig or a workshop.

Sweet escapism for anyone who needs to feed their face with cake and their soul with humanity.

7 | Glasgow Film Theatre 12 Rose St | @glasgowfilm

With a fair bit more charm than your average cinema, GFT’s famed for its Art Deco design and old-timey ambience. Part of Glasgow’s cultural scene since 1939, it acts as the hub of the annual Glasgow Film Festival, and is the place to catch classic screenings, one-offs, and arthouse (read: actually good) new releases.

117 Bath St | @blocglasgow

Bloc+ hosts gigs from unsigned and established acts most nights of the week, from low-key acoustic offerings, to skull-crushing heavy metal. Away from the music, the bar’s resident ‘Mad Chef’ fires out great twists on classic bar grub, with veggies and vegans well-catered to alongside meat fiends.

11 | The Buff Club

142 Bath Ln | @thebuffclub

Head to The Buff Club if you want to throw some absolutely formidable shapes. Classic hip-hop, funk, R’n’B and soul all come a-pumping from the speakers, along with some more niche treats from guest DJs. Go with it, it’s all good.

12 | Where the Monkey Sleeps 182 W Regent St | 0141 226 3406

There’s too much to say about this beauty within a restricted word count, so let us throw some key terms at you for a bit instead. Sandwich shop.

Rock-themed. ‘The Meathammer.’ Sofas. Art. Smoothies. Milkshakes. ROCK. THEMED. SANDWICHES.

13 | Meat Bar

142 W Regent St | @meatbarglasgow

Why have a normal meatball when you can have a smoked rabbit and bacon meatball? The clue’s in the title with this one; when you want meat, go to Meat Bar.

14 | King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut 272A St Vincent St | @kingtuts

8 | Flat 0/1

162 Bath St | @flat01_glasgow

The thinking behind Flat 0/1 is that everyone knows ‘that flat’. The party flat. A place where the decks are out, the booze is deluging and everybody in the room is gyrating until the small hours. Imagine that flat, but run by real staff instead of your wasted friends. Good stuff.

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10 | Bloc+

Another niche-defying institution, King Tut’s has its fingers in lots of pies. It’s a cosy basement bar with comfort food and pool tables, but upstairs you’ll find one of the best intimate gig venues in the country.

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20 | Paesano Pizza

94 Miller St | @paesano_pizza

The dough, cooked up in 500-degree Italian-built ovens, is fluffy and remarkably light. The toppings are expertly-chosen. You can get a pizza and a beer for under £10, and be in and out the door in about 25 minutes. Paesano – it's very very good.

21 | Sub Club King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut

15 | Social Bite

103 St Vincent St | @socialbite_

Sick of gnawing on a sub while guilt gnaws at your conscience? Well then, get yourself to Social Bite, the sandwich shop trying to make a difference.

25% of its employees are formerly homeless people, and all of its profits go to good causes.

16 | Stereo

22-28 Renfield Ln | @stereoglasgow

Another of Glasgow’s masters of all trades, Stereo’s a vegan café, bar and music venue. You can also expect some of the bigger promoters, DIY outfits and curious independents all to appear. Often the host of gig after-parties, which some of Glasgow’s finest DJs have been known to crash.

17 | Taco Mazama

6 Renfield St | @tacomazama

These guys are all about the burrito. Filling-wise, the usual suspects are on offer, with pulled pork a particular favourite among the Mazamarnivores. If you fancy your Mexican fare in a different configuration, tacos, enchiladas and quesadillas are up for grabs too.

18 | Cass Art

63-67 Queen St | @cassart

Whether you’re a devoted artist, a hardworking art student or just trying out a new hobby, these guys have got everything you could possibly need.

The impossibly neat shelves are stocked with a huge range of art tools and supplies — there’s a student discount too, naturally.

19 | La Cheetah Club 73 Queen St | @LaCheetahClub

22 Jamaica St | @subclub

Subbie pushes the musical envelope week in, week out, canonising its resident DJs and providing a space for local up-and-comers and big name guests alike – a natural haunt for the very finest talents.

22 | Chinaski’s

239 North St | 0141 221 0061

Getting your teeth stuck into Charles Bukowski is all part of becoming a student cliché, so you might as well visit Chinaski’s. Named after Bukowski’s alter-ego, it’s good fun with delightful food and great booze.

23 | Transmission

28 King Street | @transmo_gallery

This gallery’s been on the go for ages. Established by a group of GSA graduates in 1983, it seeks to encourage interaction between its members to create an inspirational atmosphere. You’ll also catch annual exhibitions of members’ work, and a bunch of film screenings too.

24 | Tron Theatre 63 Trongate | @trontheatre

The Tron Theatre stands out in its city centre location, and the theatre it hosts stands out too.

Up until 2014 it played host to Glasgay! festival, and continues to host Celtic Connections and the Merchant City Festival. The 16th Century building boasts a rather swanky theatre bar, too.

25 | 13th Note

60 King St | @official13thnot

Thanks to astonishingly cheap overheads, 13th Note has spent its life allowing all manner of folk to have their wicked musical way in the crumbly cellar. For this very reason, it’s established a reputation as an uncompromising believer in, and supporter of, live music in G-town.

Not only the club with the sassiest moniker in Glasgae, La Cheetah’s also known for its diverse range of banging clubs, hand-picked from the vast brambles of the musical spectrum.

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26 | Mono

12 Kings Court | @monoglasgow

A vegan fortress which wears its meatlessness firmly on its sleeve. Where other vegan menus suffer from a heartbreakingly dull reliance on avocados and the adjective ‘smashed,’ Mono triumphs. It also microbrews its own ginger beer and lemonade, and even features its own fiercely independent record store with a particular devotion to vinyl.

27 | Good Press

5 St. Margaret’s Pl | @good_press

Run by a group of artists, designers, publishers and facilitators, Good Press is a gallery and bookshop combined, making original works of art available to everyone. Have a rifle among their totes, prints and cassette mixtapes and get a foothold into the Glasgow art scene.

28 | The Barrowlands

Good Press

244 Gallowgate | @TheBarrowlands

A total institution. Most people – Glasgow resident or otherwise – have probably been to a gig in this Gallowgate musical wonderland. There’s a ridiculous starry façade and a sprung floor which allows Barras crowds to jump higher and go crazier than anyone else.

29 | McCune Smith Cafe 3 Duke St | @mccunesmithcafe

A laid back cafe with an insistence on using only ethically-sourced ingredients, McCune Smith has noble ambitions befitting its namesake, the pioneering African-American doctor James McCune Smith. That they serve a range of sandwiches named after some of the nation’s key historical figures shows they know how to have fun too.

30 | Drygate

85 Drygate | @drygate

Ever cracked open a little hoppy number and wondered if you’ve got it in you to brew a beer of your own? Well, brewery/pub/beer garden Drygate’s got you covered. Try your hand in the studio, or even just sample one they made earlier.

31 | Saint Luke’s

17 Bain St | @StLukesGlasgow

One of the city’s newest gig venues, the converted church round the corner from the Barrowlands is a banging addition to Glasgow’s live music scene.

Even when the main hall isn’t rocking, the Winged Ox kitchen next door serves up an eclectic mix of hearty grub and great drinks seven nights a week.

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Culture

35 | Tramway

43 Cornwall St | @KinningParkComp

25 Albert Dr | @glasgowtramway

A bustling community space run by a voluntary committee of artists, musicians and activists, this three storey sandstone building in the Southside has no end of potential. If you have an idea you want to bring to fruition, KPC would be a good place to start.

33 | House For an Art Lover

Few spots are rooted more deeply in Glaswegian history than Tramway. Over the years it’s spent its days as a tram depot and a transport museum, before reincarnating into a performance and exhibition space. Tramway 1’s forte is performancebased events, and Tramway 2 is the primary gallery space.

16 Dumbreck Rd | @HouseArtLover

Designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh (yes, that one) in 1901, the Bellahouston Park site houses an art gallery, space for exhibitions and events, a cafe and multi-purpose studios.

34 | O2 Academy

121 Eglinton St | @O2academyggow

The Academy knits together the notions of intimate gig and enormo-tour, making it the kind of venue which makes Glasgow’s music scene. Formerly an Art Deco cinema (for a change), the mega capacity allows for established acts from near and far. Pleasingly, they don’t stick to the same ol’ genres either.

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The Glad Cafe

THE SKINNY

36 | Govanhill Baths 99 Calder St | @GovanhillBaths

A project is currently underway to restore these baths to their original glory, the ultimate intention being to re-fill and re-open the swimming pool.

Until then, the whole of Glasgow benefits from this unique performance space and its ad-hoc programme of events.

37 | Rum Shack

657-659 Pollokshaws Rd | 0141 237 4432

Bringing a Caribbean flavour to Strathbungo, The Rum Shack is more of a cornucopia, stocking over 30 rums, from Angostura to Rhum Agricole. Food is served from ‘The Caribbean Kitchen’, meaning you can look forward to flavours of such. And there’s a steady stream of reggae on the sound system, obvs.

Rum Shack

38 | The Bungo

17-21 Nithsdale Rd | @thebungo

Opened by the duo behind Gibson Street’s Left Bank Bar and The Two Figs on Byres Road, The Bungo is a great option when you’ve got something to celebrate but don’t fancy throwing your wallet straight into the Clyde. Great and well-varied food, reasonable prices, nice atmosphere – three thumbs up from us.

39 | The Glad Cafe

1006A Pollokshaws Rd | @thegladcafe

Tramway

2017 – 2018

A day-to-night venue where you’ll find locally roasted coffee and treats by the day and indie/ electronic music by the moon. It’s a creative and cultural magnet in the south of the city; Glasgow’s pride and joy.

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40 | Òran Mór

Byres Road | @oranmorglasgow

The Gaelic translation of ‘great melody of life’, Òran Mór is pretty aptly-titled. It’s a converted church which acts as cultural centre and meeting place in the West End. There are two bars, two restaurants, a nightclub and a blazing roster of gigs. Melodic indeed.

41 | Hillhead Bookclub 17 Vinicombe Street | @hhbookclub

Face it, you’re not going to spend much of your life in an actual library this year, so why not make up for lost time in a pretendy one? This bohemian pub is practically made for youthful fellows; vinyl soundtrack, comfort food and strawberry mojitos on milkshake budgets.

42 | The Hanoi Bike Shop 8 Ruthven Ln | @hanoibikeshop

Now that everyone’s finally realised that Vietnam’s cool, this place probably isn’t going to be a cult secret for much longer. Get a table at this brilliant Vietnamese street food joint while you can.

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Òran Mór

THE SKINNY

46 | Artisan Roast

15-17 Gibson St | @artisanroast

Stop right there, sleepy student. Stop going to all those boring chain coffee churners. Visit the Scottish coffee magicians at Artisan Roast instead.

All the beans are roasted on-site in their ‘roasting den’, it’s comfy, and the resident bakers’ treats are truly scrumptious. Ooh, and there’s tea, too.

47 | Tchai-Ovna House of Tea 42 Otago Ln | 0141 357 4524

There are over 80 different teas on offer at TchaiOvna – and it’s vegan-tastic too! For that very reason you’ll be fighting off fellow tea-slurpers, yoga-moms and shaky businesspeople for a space, but be nice. Plenty of floor cushions to go around.

48 | Kimchi Cult!

14 Chancellor St | @kimchicult

The Hanoi Bike Shop

43 | Juice Garden

Tagging itself as the provider of ‘punk riffs on Korean classics’, Kimchi Cult! combines authentic, high quality Korean food with the quick and easy satisfaction of your favourite burger joint.

Bibimbap rice bowls, bao (steamed buns), Korean fried chicken smothered in gochujang hot sauce, and fermented goodies everywhere; this’ll clear up any hangover.

223 Byres Rd | @juice_garden

It might make you feel a bit like a Kardashian, but you’re just going to have to overlook that. Juice Garden’s got a menu of beautiful juices, smoothies and soups, and the cafe itself is decked out with comfy white furniture, fake grass, and groovy technology embedded in the tables.

44 | Tribe Two

1 Bank St | @tribetattoo

You’re in Glasgow. Obviously you’re going to want to get some metal in those ears at some point.

Tribe Two piercing and tattoo salon is just off Great Western Road, a perfect location for a spot of bodily mutilation between lectures.

45 | Inn Deep

445 Great Western Rd | @inndeepbar

The clever people at Williams Brothers brewery are responsible for the thing of glory that is Inn Deep. Historically victors in our Food & Drink survey, this riverside haunt has got its beer and burgers down to a winning formula. And that formula includes fishtanks.

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Tchai-Ovna House of Tea

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49 | The Sparkle Horse Sat behind Kelvinhall subway, The Sparkle Horse features nearly as much black paint inside as it does on its stark exterior. The low lighting and comfy booths make The Sparkle Horse a laid-back space to while away the hours after lectures.

Culture

16 Dowanhill St | @TheSparkleHorse

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50 | Three Judges

141 Dumbarton Rd | @the3judges

Clubs

Comedy

A classic ‘old man’s pub’, this West End spot focuses on real ales and craft beers. A great place to get started on your beer education, once you’ve got through the Beer 101 of student union pints and unpronounceable Lidl special offers.

Art

51 | The Hug and Pint

171 Great Western Rd | @thehugandpint_

Food & Drink

Music

In June 2015, Hug and Pint began its mission of bringing tremendous music to Glasgow, one beer-y hug at a time. If the joint’s name feels familiar, that’s probably because it was taken from the title of Arab Strap’s album Monday at the Hug & Pint. A top notch spot for chilling, collaborating and performing music that’d make Moffat and Middleton proud.

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52 | WEST on the corner

53 | SWG3

Want sensational beer, and want to consume it in a beer garden? Head to WEST, a Brewery which brews its nectar according to the 1516 German Purity Laws. Lush.

This one’s come a hella long way since its days as a decomposing grotto and hipster’s wet dream.

The once bleak-as-midwinter interior has been transformed into a sleek, haunting auditorium, and it’s now host to no end of awesome gigs and big, big club nights.

160 Woodlands Rd | @westonthecorner

100 Eastvale Pl | @SWG3glasgow

54 | Piece

1056 Argyle St | @pieceglasgow

To get you up to speed on the culinary vernacular, a ‘piece’ is a sandwich round here. That in mind, it’s not too difficult to determine what this deli is all about. Piece’s sandwich menu is terrifically comprehensive, with dozens of sandwiches on the go.

55 | Lebowski’s

1008 Argyle St | @lebowskis_west

Hill Head Book Club

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Do you like milk? Are you prepared to have your sober brain drenched in dairy-based bliss? Would you consider drinking a White Russian which contains Buckfast? Why are you still taking this quiz when there’s a White Russian bar waiting to make you the happiest boozer alive?

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Culture

1 | Fruitmarket Gallery

4 | Tribal

If sculpture’s your thang, Fruitmarket Gallery will see you right. Along with two floors of exhibition space, they’ve got an incredible selection of art and photography books and magazines, a quirky wee gift shop and a damn good cafe.

When the self-mutilation urge hits, go to Tribal. It’s cheap for students, clean, professional, and they’re lovely enough not to laugh at you if you chicken out. Not that we’d know anything about that...

45 Market St | @Fruitmarket

248 Canongate | 0131 558 9019

2 | Baba Budan

5 Hunter Sq | @civerinos_slice

17 East Market St | @bababudancoffee

Baba Budan specialises in artisan coffee and freshly baked doughnuts from its wee cove in the New Waverley Arches. Also nestled into these renovated arches you’ll find the likes of meaty haven Chop House, its herbivourous neighbor Juice Warrior and indie winery Vino.

3 | Coda

The location’s great, the vibe is great, and the sourdough pizza at Civerinos is great. You can now grab their great pizza in two spots on opposite ends of the Old Town; their main base at the Royal Mile, and their new Civerinos Slice spot at the edge of the Meadows (49 Forrest Rd).

6 | Monkey Barrel

9-11 Blair St | @monkeybarrelcomedy

12 Bank St | 0131 622 7246

Coda stock everything from golden oldies to platinum newbies, and should you want something a little more niche, they’ll consult a bunch of databases and try to sort you out.

2017 – 2018

5 | Civerinos

Comedy club open seven nights a week and home to an eclectic mix of stand-up, tours, sketch and improv shows, as well as the popular Big Show.

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Vinyl Destinations Go on the perfect record shopping spree in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee with this, our ultimate guide Words: Tallah Brash Edinburgh Beginning your adventure on Cockburn Street in the Old Town, at the bottom you’ll find the wonderfully knowVoxBox ledgeable Underground Solu’shn. Run by a plethora of the city’s finest DJs, they specialise in dance and electronica, and boast a pretty god damn eclectic mix of other stuff too. Turn left at the bottom of the street and if you head up to the top of The Mound you’ll arrive at CODA Music, who specialise in folk and trad, but also stock lots of other genres.

Heading towards the New Town, you’ll find Fopp at the east end of Rose Street. While Fopp’s parent company is HMV, it still retains the vibe of an independent retailer with a great selection of current pop, alt, indie, dance and hip-hop records.

It also doubles up as a great place to buy cheap DVDs and books. Venturing deeper into the New Town, definitely hit up VoxBox on St Stephen Street in Stockbridge. They’ve loads of records by local artists and labels, as well as a lot of great new releases and collectibles, plus a bangin’ selection of second hand records through the back.

Next on your list and just off Lothian Road, very close to ECA, is Assai, a spacious wonder which is an utter pleasure to browse in with an excellent selection to boot. They also run a points scheme and sell their own Assai-branded turntables. Yes! And almost completing your trip full circle, near Edinburgh Uni’s Potterrow union building is Paradise Palms, which as well as being an awesome veggie restaurant and super cool bar, is also a flippin’ good record label and record shop specialising in indie electronica and experimental dance music.

Monorail Records

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Glasgow Start at Monorail Records.

A 10-minute walk from Strathclyde Uni, you’ll find Monorail housed within vegan restaurant, bar and

live music venue, Mono. Behind the shop’s counter you’ll find a number of local celebrities, in the form of some of the city’s finest musicians, and in the sleeves you’ll find a wonderful and eclectic selection of vinyl.

Head west towards the city centre and after a short walk you’ll find Fopp on Union Street just behind Central Station. Moving ever so slightly northwards towards Queen Street station, tucked away on Dundas Street is Love Music Glasgow who specialise in rock music. From Buchanan Street jump on Glasgow’s subway and ride three stops to Kelvinbridge, and after a brief walk you’ll arrive at LP Records; a stone’s throw from Glasgow Uni, they’re one of the city’s newest record shops, as well as a record label.

Round the corner from there is the excellent second hand shop, Mixed Up Records, and just a bit further up the road is the Byres Road branch of Fopp. By this point, you may as well, right?

Dundee While Dundee is on the smaller side, the city still has some excellent independent record shopping available. There’s Groucho's in the centre of town, just down the street from DCA, who specialise in second hand vinyl; Assai – the original shop run by the same people who run Assai in Edinburgh – in Broughty Ferry.

At the time of writing this we’ve also just received an email about a brand new record and art shop set to open up on Perth Road called Le Freak. Le Freak are planning to host a solid selection of indie, soul and dance music on their shelves and have promised a wall made of Lego inside. As far as the opening date goes, Jack Le Feuvre tells us: “Let’s say 20 September. Could be sooner, could be later. Will definitely be before October.” We can’t wait for a dig! theskinny.co.uk/music

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Cabaret Voltaire

7 | City Cafe

13 | The Caves

Hungover but worried you’ll feel like a failure if your dickhead flatmate snapchats you in Snax for the third brunch running? Enter City Cafe, a cracking American diner by day and drinks spot at night. Oh, and they’re generous when refilling your cup of coffee. Or ‘Joe’, if you will.

You get a bit desensitised to stuff happening in caves when you’ve lived in the ‘Burgh long enough, but c’mon! Clubs in a cave! It’s also a magical place to hold a ball, so bear that in mind when you’re social sec for the Ultimate Frisbee society or whatever.

19 Blair St | @TheCityCafe

8-12 Niddry St South | @cavesedinburgh

8 | The Hive

14 | Shrub Swap and Reuse Hub 13 Guthrie St | @shrubcoop

15-17 Niddry St | @clubhive

Appalling in all the right ways, the Hive is one of the best dive clubs in town. The music is mainstream, the drinks really, truly flow (even onto your shoes!) and you’ll see more disco winches than you can shake a Jägerbomb at.

A wee hub promoting all things warm and fuzzy and good for the environment/your purse-strings. Take along your old belongings and directly swap for new things, or collect tokens to save up for a treat.

15 | Jazz Bar

1A Chambers St | @TheJazzBar

9 | Cabaret Voltaire 36 Blair St | @cabaretvoltaire

Nestled beneath the anxiously touristic Royal Mile lies a staple of alternative music culture. Drinks are a bit pricier but for your dollar you’ll get a classy dram, with regular guest DJs bringing the noise in the subterranean main room.

10 | Bar 50 50 Blackfriars St | @Bar50Edin

Bar 50 is Smart City Hostels’ in-house watering hole, so if you’re back from your gap year and missing that laid back, everyone’s-a-potential-pal vibe typical of travel hostels, give this one a go.

11 | Ox184

Alright, alright, let us include one spot where you’ll need more than shrapnel to pay for a beer. Shh, listen. For a couple of quid, you can hang out in this sexy little cave and listen to some of the best jazz, funk and soul around until the Reekie sun rises.

16 | The Liquid Room 9C Victoria St | @liquidrooms

Every cloud has a silver lining. Even your club burning down. Liquid Rooms recovered like a champ and lives on to dazzle and deafen its punters with a bespoke lighting and sound system – and some impressive DJ appearances too.

17 | The Bongo Club 66 Cowgate | @bongoclub

A mile-long bar stocked with a legion of beers, ciders and spirits. The nightly DJing and live music.

The dealbreaker? Ox184 has its own wood-fired grill and serves a handsome BBQ menu until 2.30am. Sold – to the hungry fresher at the back.

This one’s so popular that basically the entire student population rallied on its behalf when it faced closure. Probably something to do with its gloriously diverse selection of clubs, its wicked resident DJs, and finally, the student kryptonite: I Love Hip-Hop on Tuesdays.

12 | The Piemaker

18 | Sneaky Pete’s

At some point this semester you’ll find yourself weeping as you lug fourteen new social anthropology textbooks home from Blackwell’s. You’ll be ravenous.

The Piemaker will make you feel like the world is okay again, through the power of fat and pastry.

Sneaky’s reputation as a tiny wee club now precedes it entirely – but don’t let that put you off. Size isn’t everything, it’s what you do with it.

And if you’re cranking out 150 decibels of sweet, melodious funk into the ears of sweaty happy people, then size actually means nothing at all.

184-186 Cowgate | @Ox184

38 South Bridge | 0131 558 1728

2017 – 2018

73 Cowgate | @sneakypetesclub

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25 | Ting Thai Caravan 8-9 Teviot Pl | 0131 225 9801

Paradise Palms

19 | Brass Monkey

14 Drummond St | 0131 556 1961

This one used to be a local secret, but we’re just so proud of it that everyone’s now in on it. A perfect location between Pleasance and the Bridges, with pub quizzes and cheap bevvies, what more could you possibly require?

20 | Brew Lab Coffee

6-8 South College St | @BrewLabCoffee

Great coffee, outrageous sandwiches and soups, and cakes and teas from some of Edinburgh’s best producers all find a home at Brew Lab.

21 | Lighthouse Bookshop 43-45 W Nicolson St | @LighthouseBks

So, you’ve had your mind wrenched open by that guy on your floor who keeps talking at you about ‘the man’, where to now? Lighthouse Bookshop, of course. FKA Word Power books, this reincarnation stocks a huge range of political, arts and cultural literature; and you can also grab magazines and zines that are hard to come by elsewhere.

Cheap, sumptuous Thai food, smiley service with lovely haircuts, an oddly endearing communal dining style, and utilitarian cardboard food boxes.

Ting Thai is great, but small, so be ready to queue.

It’s worth waiting for, trust us, and look out for their new Vietnamese joint Ting Thai Saboteur opening just down the street this autumn.

26 | Boteco do Brasil 47 Lothian St | @botecodobrasil

A nice wee Brazilian bar upstairs, a hurricane of Shakira and tequila downstairs, Boteco’s your saviour when you’re thoroughly done with being forced to dance to Disclosure. Reclaim your night out and take it to Brazil. And by Brazil, we mean Boteco.

27 | Paradise Palms

41 Lothian St | @edinburghpalms

Charismatic staff, cheap cocktails for students, vegan soul food for dinner and live entertainment, all in a comfy and exciting bar that feels a bit like the result of an explosion in a party supplies shop.

28 | Wildman Wood

27 Marshall St | @wildmanrestaurant

Contemporary pizza joint in the heart of Edinburgh’s university district (ie: directly behind Potterrow) with ingenious toppings, gorgeous Italian tapas and cichetti to die for.

22 | Festival Theatre

29 | Palmyra Pizza

Big old glass-fronted theatre with a year-round programme of theatre, musicals, dance, live music and more. Feeling spontaneous? Head down on the day and grab yourself a £10 standby ticket.

Superfoods and quinoa come and go, but falafel wraps are here to stay. Flash your student card and a bounty of reasonably priced, delicious Middle Eastern food (or, alternatively, pizza) will fall into your hands. And they’re open till god knows when...

13-29 Nicolson St | @festivalandkingstheatres

22 Nicolson St | 0131 667 6655

23 | Bedlam Theatre 11 Bristo Pl | @bedlamtheatre

Home to Edinburgh University Theatre Company, with its iconic red door and newly spruced interior, Bedlam is exciting for punters and performers alike. If you want a belter of a Friday night, grab a ludicrously cheap pint and laugh your spleen out at homegrown improv troupe The Improverts.

24 | Union of Genius

30 | The Mosque Kitchen 31 Nicolson Sq | 0131 667 4035

An all-round winner, the Mosque Kitchen serves up delicious curry all day long with huge plates of spicy goodness starting at just a few quid. A student rite of passage; you should go. Now.

31 | Maki & Ramen

13 West Richmond St | @makiandramen

A lovingly decorated and charming hole in the wall Six different soups on offer every day, pulling out the off Nicholson St, the menu is, as suggested, half stops to suit vegans, veggies and gluten-free eaters. sushi and half noodle. Expect quality in presentaSeasonal, locally sourced, and blummin’ delicious. tion, ingredients and execution.

8 Forrest Rd | @UnionofGenius

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32 | Traverse

10 Cambridge St | @traversetheatre

A theatre affectionately known by its many supporters as the Trav, this one’s a mainstay on our list of recommendations. It’s regarded as one of the best Scottish platforms for new writing, so you’d be foolish not to pop over and take advantage of their student concession prices.

33 | Mary’s Milk Bar

Mary's Milk Bar

38 | Lovecrumbs

155 West Port | @hellolovecrumbs

19 Grassmarket | @marysmilkbar

Y’know when you’re in the mood for ice cream but Phish Food just won’t do? That sort of mood where the only thing that’ll scratch the itch is Italian gelato created by someone who trained in Bologna at the prestigious Carpigiani Gelato University? We feel you. Get yourself to Mary’s.

Lovecrumbs is the Instagram filter Valencia embodied in cafe form. It’s a cake-filled fairyland where ‘gluten free’ is double Dutch. There’s even literally a window seat where you can lounge and smugly munch away for the viewing pleasure of the Edinburghian public.

39 | Fieldwork

34 | Topolobamba

105 Fountainbridge | @fieldworkcafe

Beyond the nice lighting and lovely fonts, a menu of Mexican street food classics and small sharing plates awaits. If you haven’t time for a big ol’ sitdown (or hate sharing food) the lunchtime special Torta sandwiches will be right up your street.

40 | Wee Red Bar

93 Lothian Rd | @TopolabambaLothianRoad

Dinky little cafe just off Lothian Road, all dark wood, exposed brickwork and old school desks.

Head down for delicious cakes and pastries, coffee from Steampunk roastery, and chill-ass vibes.

Lauriston Pl | 0131 651 5859

88 Lothian Rd | @filmhouse

Indie cinema Filmhouse skims the cream of everything from arthouse to blockbuster (and the weird stuff between). Grab a pint and a comically cheap student ticket, and watch the kind of film that will make people think you’re all intellectual and that.

The ECA bar churns out great gig after great gig.

It also hosts the brilliant Hey QT, an LGBTQI night with a safe space policy ‘because boogie-ing is for non-jerks only.’

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Culture

35 | Filmhouse

92 Lothian Rd | @BreadMeats_EDI

If you’re skint but still feel compelled to go out for dinner, hit up Bread Meats Bread. Not only are the prices totally reasonable, the burgers and sides are big enough and tasty enough to get you through the rest of the day, and well into the next.

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Comedy Clubs Art

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Music

One of the city’s few low-cost hire venues, Henry’s attracts a diverse bunch of musicians that you wouldn’t see in conventional haunts. It’s got that awesome community vibe where you can talk to strangers without feeling creepy/getting your head kicked in. And it’s below Lebowski’s – perfect for post-gig White Russians with your new pals.

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Food & Drink

16 Morrison St | @henryscellarBar

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37 | Henry’s Cellar Bar

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41 | The Stand Comedy Club 5 York Pl | @standcomedyclub

The Stand Comedy Club is a good one if your ribs are needing tickled. Now, when we say this place is intimate, we really mean it. Turn up early to grab a safe seat, unless you’re okay with becoming front row joke-fodder.

42 | Pomegranate New Town 1 Antigua St | 0131 556 8337

One for the New Town-ers, Pomegranate serves up the tastiest mezze dishes drawn from Lebanese, Moroccan, Iranian and Saudi Arabian cuisine. It’s also BYOB, with no corkage charge.

2017 – 2018

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43 | Joseph Pearce’s 23 Elm Row | @JosephPearces

A relaxed and cosy Swedish café that’s the perfect stopping point for Leithers on their journeys to and from ‘town’. By night JP’s is a bohemian bar with a cool crowd powered by aquavit-based cocktails and Swedish cider.

44 | Bodega

62 Elm Row | @ILoveBodega

A tiny BYOB spot on Elm Row, Bodega’s tacos are amazing. Get a big enough crew together (ie a couple of flats’ worth of folk) and you can book out the whole place for an evening of delicious Mexican street food.

45 | Twelve Triangles

90 Brunswick St | @TwelveTriangles

Doughnuts, motherfucker! Sorry, got a bit carried away there, but the point stands: 12T’s doughnuts are incredible. The flavours are ever-changing, but the quality is a constant. Grab some great bread and pastries while you’re there – you’ve almost certainly earned it.

46 | Out of the Blue Drill Hall 36 Dalmeny St | @ootbdrillhall

Yep, we’re talking about an actual Drill Hall here.

Funnily enough, it’s pretty well suited to its new purpose – a bustling hub of artistic creativity, with exhibitions, film screenings, workshops, flea markets and vintage fairs.

47 | Century General Store

1 Montrose Tce | facebook.com/centurygeneralstore

On Abbeyhill, between Easter Road and Holyrood, Century General Store is part cafe and part lovely homeware shop. If you’re in need of something to really make your Pollock room pop, or just want a mug that’s special enough that no-one will dare nick it, this is the place.

48 | Collective

City Observatory & City Dome | @1984_collective

A gallery committed to challenging conceptions of art, popular culture and social attitudes, Collective specialise in far-reaching participatory and off-site projects. These projects include the Satellites Programme, Collective's annual opportunity by which emergent artists in Scotland can develop their technical and critical skills.

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49 | Stockbridge Market 1 Saunders St | @StockbridgeMark

A slice of upper-middle-class Edinburgh life, every Sunday the Stockbridge Market features a mix of street food, artisan products and other bits and pieces. We’d recommend a coffee from the Steampunk van, dumplings from Harajuku Kitchen, and looking out for incredibly posh puppies.

50 | VoxBox

21 St Stephen St | @voxboxmusic

One of Edinburgh’s best indie record stores, VoxBox offers a deceptively large stock of new and used records from bands from all over. They really step their game up every Record Store Day, teaming up with their Stockbridge neighbours for a series of free gigs and events.

51 | The Pitt

125 Pitt St | @pittstmarket

Tucked away on an industrial backstreet in Leith, this food market opens up every weekend to offer up laidback vibes, live music, a cockle-warming atmosphere and an array of top notch street scran.

52 | Harmonium

60 Henderson St | @harmoniumbar

For years Edinburgh’s veggies and vegans have gazed jealously at Glasgow’s venerable veggie spots Mono, Stereo and The Flying Duck. Now, that deliciously animal-free awesomeness makes its way to Leith, with former Mono head chef VSO Henderson heading up the kitchen. Good things await.

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53 | Taquito 32 Home St

Mexican eatery Taquito follow a philosophy of simplicity and tastiness, meaning they’re perfect if you’re looking to load up on guac-laden treats at astonishingly reasonable prices.

54 | Cameo

38 Home St | @cameocinema

Art deco, dusty and intimate, the historic Cameo makes going to the cinema feel like a real treat again. They screen everything from the mainstream to the obscure, and even host sleepover film nights and live events.

55 | Lupe Pintos

24 Leven St | @lupepintosdeli

Treasure trove of a food shop, filled with delights for all foodies, lovers of Mexican and Central American foods and American ex-pats looking for that canned pumpkin fix.

Cameo Cinema

56 | New Amphion, Teviot House

57 | Africano Wrap Place

Part of Edinburgh University’s Teviot building, this gem is chronically overshadowed by its overrated internal neighbor, Library Bar. The nautical themed, open plan New Amphion is way better. Comfy sofas, plugs for your laptop and cheap nachos.

Clue’s in the title. Our fave is the falafel wrap: homemade falafel packed with fresh herbs and spices, paired with a light, smooth houmous and a delightful spicy peanut sauce. It’s a party in your mouth, and everyone’s invited.

Teviot Row House | @EUSA

2017 – 2018

6 Chapel St | 0131 667 8200

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58 | 10 to 10 in Delhi 67 Nicolson St | 07536 757770

A great spot for a curry between classes or a post-lecture pitstop, with the food and drink served up in an incogruous yet amazing rainbow-coloured, floor-cushioned den.

59 | Red Box Noodle Bar

51 West Nicolson Street | @edinburghnoodlebar

Super Noodles just not cutting it? Swing by Red Box for a steaming bowl (or box) of freshly prepared noodles, with options galore and pleasingly massive portions.

60 | Andrew Usher & Co

65 | Summerhall

1 Summerhall Pl | @summerhallery

32B West Nicolson St | @AndyUsherAndCo

This super duper pub is cool with letting you sample whichever of their craft beers piques your interest, so never again will there be reason to freak out and order a “smokey” number which tastes like bacon.

Unless you like that one, of course (weirdo).

61 | Kilimanjaro Coffee 104 Nicolson St | 0131 662 0135

The most heavenly mochas in town, with the natural light which floods through the glass-fronted shop making a nice change from your rickets-inducing halls kitchen.

62 | Filament Coffee 38 Clerk St | @FilamentCoffee

Filament’s a brilliant modern coffee bar halfway between Summerhall and the Pleasance, just off the Meadows but not far from Pollock either.

Grab a flat white, get your bearings, and get your day moving.

63 | Cult Espresso

A hub for the arts, it’s the place to be if you’re a creative type. You’ll find club nights, art exhibitions, theatre, beer festivals, an onsite brewery and gin distillery, a bar with courtyard for a little European plaza chic, and even members of Skinny staff skulking about the place after a long day in the office.

66 | Dough

172 Rose St & 47 South Clerk St | @Dough_pizzeria1

Stop! Buying! Domino’s! Pizza! Look, Dough have an extensive array of by-the-slice pies, all delicious sea water crusts and fresh ingredients.

Go to them; they’ll see you right.

67 | Clerk’s Bar

74-78 South Clerk St | @clerksbar

Crafts on tap, slow-smoked scran at loan-friendly prices and all kinds of student revelry (though think twice before entering their Hot Wings Challenge...).

68 | Victor Hugo

26/27 Melville Terrace | @VictorHugoDeli

104 Buccleuch St | @CultCoffeeEdin

Interested in speciality coffee but don’t want to have to pretend you understand what a pour-over is? That’s okay – the charming fellows at Cult’ll whip you up something, sans smugness. Top lads.

64 | Snax

118 Buccleuch St & 15 W Register St | @SnaxEdinburgh

Fry-ups! Snax is more than just a deliriously cheap greasy spoon, and not just because it does paninis and baked potatoes too. It’s a statement.

It’s the reclaiming of hash browns and potato scones; a triumphant celebration of down to earth British breakfasting.

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Summerhall

An absolute cornucopia of hangover-slaying dishes will leave you stuck deciding what you want for about fifteen minutes. If you’re grabbing lunch on the way across the Meadows, nip in for one of their pastrami sandwiches; it has about half a cow on it.

69 | August_21

89 Causewayside | @August21CoffeeHouse

Edgy little coffee shop a short stroll from Pollock Halls serving up hearty sandwiches, eclectic salads and frighteningly decadent cakes from Earthy. Plus, there’s a study basement where you can nick their WiFi all afternoon long.

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1 | Clark’s Bakery

4 | Art Bar

Rescuing hangry people in Dundee since 1950, Clark’s Bakery stays open all day and all night too.

Home baked cakes, pastries and burgers that’ll clog yo’ arteries to boot. Heard of the helicopter yet? Won’t be long til you do, so enjoy your coronal health while you still can.

Practically on top of Duncan of Jordanstone art school, this one’s a bar especially for the art folk of Dundee. Thanks to the creative clientele and their cravings for out-of-hours arts, you can look forward to open mics and regular live music slots.

Drinks are beautifully affordable too.

2 | The Speedwell Bar

5 | Drouthy’s

Generations of Dundee students have taken their first brave steps from the Union bar into the pub world at this Edwardian institution. Grab a pint, pull up a chair and constantly refer to the place as ‘Mennie’s’ – the nickname given in honour of its former landlady – and you’ll fit in in no time at all.

Managed by the same bunch of edge-maestros behind Edinburgh’s woodfired hipster den OX184, Drouthy’s is as hip’n’happening as you’d expect.

They keep things simple, but make sure there’s plenty going on, whether you’re ravenous for hearty grub or craving an ale.

3 | Generator Projects

6 | Cooper Gallery

Generator was launched in 1996, and has provided a space for new and established artists to exhibit their work ever since. Its projects are run by a team of six artists who rotate every two years, keeping things super fresh and exciting. Oh, and membership is a fiver. A FIVER.

Part of the University of Dundee, the Cooper plays host to a series of large-scale exhibitions over the course of the year, offering DJCAD students an ideal opportunity to mingle and draw inspiration.

Unit 3, Annfield Row | @clarks24hbakery

140B Perth Road | 01382 641366

165 Perth Rd

142 Perth Rd | @drouthys

Unit 25-26 Mid Wynd | @generatorproj

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13 Perth Rd | @ExhibitionsDJCAD

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13 | Underground

South Tay St | @undergroundvip Duke's Corner

7 | Duke’s Corner

13 Brown Street | @dukescorner

Beer, BBQs and bands is what Duke’s professes to do best, and to be honest we’re sort of inclined to believe them. They’ve got 30 bar taps which deliver a whole host of ales and craft beers into the happy bellies of Dundee punters, smokey pub grub all day long, and a decent roster of live music.

8 | The West House 2 West Port | @thewesthouse

It’s a younger resident of Dundee’s bar-restaurant scene, but The West House is a good’un if you fancy drinks and snacks in a chic setting. All white walls, big windows and champagne flutes suspended in anticipation above the bar, it’s just a nice place to be.

9 | Clarks on Lindsay St 80 North Lindsay St

Gigs every weekend and a host of tasty beers await at Clarks, while the free wi-fi, big ol’ televisions and lovely coffee make it an ideal spot to while away a weekend afternoon.

10 | Church

15 Ward Road | @churchdundee

A venue that’s been through more names than you’ve had hot dinners, Church remains a reliable location for those fancying some live music. Catch local and touring bands, along with rock and indie nights too.

11 | The Firefly 15 Ward Rd

Tell you what’s helpful when you’re with a group of new pals who have inconveniently diverse tastes – a mixed music policy at a club, that’s what.

14 | Tonic

141 Nethergate | @TonicDundee

Would you like to consume a 24oz burger? Who doesn’t want to consume a 24oz burger, right?

Well, Tonic’s got that pretty much covered, along with a wicked atmosphere, drinks at prices that won’t slay your student loan and squishy chairs fit for lecture dodgers from far and wide.

15 | The Phoenix

103 Nethergate | 01382 200014

Schlap-bang in the centre of Dundee and straddling both the pub genres of ‘Old Man’ and ‘Bohemian Cool Person,’ Phoenix is a definite shout if you just fancy hanging around and flaunting your free time like the lucky dickhead you are.

16 | DCA

152 Nethergate | @dcadundee

What’s got a two screen cinema, professional printmaking kit and features heaps of high profile exhibitions? DCA, that’s what. Basically a Mecca for Dundee’s artist community, DCA also has its very own café-bar and a gift shop, making it a pleasant place to spend a couple of hours browsing and people watching.

17 | Bird & Bear 2 Whitehall Crescent

A lovely copper bar, a brilliant selection of local drinks, hip-hop brunch parties every weekend, a cracking all-day food menu and a brilliant location in the middle of town; Bird & Bear has a lot going for it. To be honest, they had us at ‘hip-hop brunch’.

The Firefly is fast making an impression in Dundee as one of the town’s friendliest locals. Top this off with the occasional gig and pub quiz night and you’ve 18 | The McManus Albert Square | @mcmanusdundee got all the makings of a classic great pub, we say!

Built atop a former marshland, The McManus has 12 | Dundee Rep suffered its fair share of structural difficulties.

Tay Square | @dundeerep But it’s returned better than ever after a major The Rep is home to one of the country’s most structural refurb, and back to demonstrating the renowned theatre companies, but also accommo- history of Dundee in an impressive fashion. Those dates some of the best touring theatre producfeeling peckish after perusing the gallery can sip tions as they make their way around the UK. It’s on something caffeinated under rare rays of not all highbrow stuff though, you’ll also catch a Dundonian sun, too. bit of stand-up, dance and live music there too.

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@VADundee

23 | The Bach

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20 Exchange Court | @thebachdundee

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A slice of New Zealand cafe culture in the heart of Dundee, The Bach is inspired by the Kiwi holiday homes of the same name. Once you find your way in up the stairs, you’ll find a cracking flat white, great all-day food, and a selection of imported Antipodean goodies.

Food & Drink

Music

Art

Clubs

Comedy

Books

OK, it isn't open yet. OK, it isn't even finished yet, but that Kengo Kuma-designed monolith on the waterfront is set to be the biggest thing to happen to Dundee's creative scene in a long time. The design museum will feature a host of exhibitions, touring shows and collaboration opportunities when it opens its doors in 2018.

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24 | Metalurgey

40 Dock St | 01382 204440

19 | Brewdog Bar

Chamber Building, Panmure St | @brewdog

You know what you’re getting with Brewdog – which is handy in Dundee, ‘City of Discovery’.

This branch of the Fraserburgh craft beer monolith is slap bang in the middle of the city, and inside you’ll find the usual Brewdog scenario: wooden furniture, loads and loads of beer from home and away, and surprisingly refined meat and cheese boards.

20 | Conroy’s Basement 51-53 Meadowside

57 Blackscroft | @thereadingrooms

Festooned with camouflage roofing and full of people out of their joyous minds, the Reading Rooms is a bit different. It’s loud, intimate and soundtracked by everything from Afrobeat to hip-hop.

40 Gray St, Broughty Ferry | @visocchis

Over in the Ferry, Visocchi’s started out over fifty years ago as a traditional sweet shop, before venturing later into the gelato arena. With what’s been pinned as the best ice cream in Scotland by all kinds of movers and (milk)shakers, it’s no wonder Visocchi’s has queues right outta the door.

A trail of 25 plaques dedicated to some badass women who made Dundee the place it is, including Janet Keiller (the hero who invented marmalade) and Jean Thomson, who’s thought to be Scotland’s first ever female police officer. Complete with an interactive map and spanning four centuries of history, it’s feminist AND fun AND free. A pretty decent way to get yourself stuck into the streets of ol’ Duntay, too.

2017 – 2018

25 | Reading Rooms

26 | Visocchi’s

One of Dundee’s most important DIY venues, Conroy’s plays host to a wide range of up-andcomers from across the UK punk and metal scenes and beyond. It’s also the main place to catch shows from Dundee DIY promoters and record label Make That A Take.

21 | Dundee Women’s Trail

A triangular tattoo and piercing shop found at the corner of Dock St and Commercial St, this place is our recommended putting-needles-in-your-face shop. They’ve got a talented group of tattoo artists on the go there, too – just don’t waste them on an infinity loop on your wrist.

27 | Assai Records

241 King St, Broughty Ferry | @assaiuk

Vinyl’s back, baby! Prove your impeccable musical cred at Assai in Broughty Ferry, which specialises in the format with a great mix of brand-new releases and classic vinyl reissues. Assai also host in-store gigs throughout the year, and bring a slice of Record Store Day fun to Dundee every April.

VENUES

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VENUES

THE SKINNY