The Skinny April 2019 by The Skinny

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CULT U R A L

J O U R N A L I S M

April 2019 Scotland Issue 163

April 2019

Issue 163, April 2019 © Radge Media Ltd. Get in touch: E: hello@theskinny.co.uk T: 0131 467 4630 P: The Skinny, 1.9 1st Floor Tower, Techcube, Summerhall, 1 Summerhall Pl, 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.

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Contents

Editorial Editor-in-Chief Art Editor Books Editor Clubs Editor Comedy Editor Events Editor Film & DVD Editor Food Editor Intersections Editor Music Editor Theatre Editor Travel Editor

Rosamund West Adam Benmakhlouf Heather McDaid Nadia Younes Polly Glynn Nadia Younes Jamie Dunn Peter Simpson Katie Goh Tallah Brash Amy Taylor Paul Mitchell

Production Production Manager Designer

Rachael Hood Fiona Hunter

Sales Sales Manager Sales Executives

Sandy Park George Sully David Hammond Joanne Jamieson Megan Mitchell

Online Digital Editor Online Journalist Web Developer Intern

Peter Simpson Jamie Dunn Stuart Spencer Emily Corpuz

Bookkeeping & Accounts Publisher

Aaron Tuveri Sophie Kyle

THE SKINNY

Photo: Mario Cruzado

Photo: Ricardo Villalobos

P.40 James Rigler

Photo: Sophie Mutevelian

P.37 Egg

P.23 Faith Eliott

Photo: Paul Diffley

P.20 Houghton

Contents Chat & Opinion: Competitions, a collec06 tion of good things to check out on the website, Shot of the Month, What Are You Having For Lunch?, and a column about love and death. Heads Up: Our calendar-style guide to 08 April. Remember, a cultural event a day keeps the doctor away! MUSIC FESTIVALS your summer holiday with a whole 10 Pair load of great music, with our pick of the best UK and European music festivals.

ur guide to the many and varied festiO vals taking place across Scotland in 2019.

15 Pip Blom talks us through the impor-

tance of festivals to her and her band as she gears up to play literally dozens of them this summer; our guide to the essential items to pack for festival season.

Enjoy a weekend of music *without* 16 destroying the environment? We talk to some of Scotland’s festival organisers trying to make that dream a reality. art of festival curation 19 An insight into theTom Carpenter and with Gottwood’s OH141’s Sarra Wild.

20 An all-action selection of this year’s electronic music festivals.

FEATURES the journey to his de22 Callum Easter on Here or Nowhere, out this but solo album month on Lost Map.

23 Faith Elliot introduces their debut

album Impossible Bodies, and launching their own label OK Pal Records.

24 Roddy Woomble talk artistic travels and flying under the hype radar as Idlewild release their new album Interview Music.

27 Stealing Sheep tackle the information

overload of the internet age on their latest album Big Wows.

28 Ela Orleans’ new record is a collection

of tracks from across her early career; she discusses the record, and her everevolving style.

We're just a sexy party band,” says 29 “ Washington DC’s Priests as they introduce new album The Seduction of Kansas.

30 Comedian-turned-director Bo Burnham on bringing the trials of the 21st century schoolyard to life in Eighth Grade. 33 Jessie Buckley hits the high notes – and a dead-on Glasgow accent – on country music drama Wild Rose.

34 Alice Rohrwacher introduces the magic

realism of her new film Happy as Lazzaro.

We discuss masculinity and colonialism 35 with Damian Barr as his much-antici-

pated debut novel You Will Be Safe Here is published.

36 A look at LGBT+ representation in

Scottish theatre, and how it can be improved.

We meet local improv performance 37 night Something Smashing, while Sarah Bebe Holmes’ introduces her sell-out Fringe show Egg, which discusses fertility through the medium of acrobative.

their exploration 40 Local Heroes continue Scottish ceramics. of the world of

42 Part of Platform’s Outskirts festival,

group exhibition Timefield foregrounds the work of older artists at the beginning of their careers.

44 As DCA refuse to go home from their

20th birthday celebrations, we meet a few of the people who’ve helped to shape the space past and present (and future).

LIFESTYLE

46 Intersections: One writer describes the

turmoil of watching his native Brazil lose itself to populism. We take a look at slow dating, an apparent solution to swipe right culture.

48 Travel: Our living abroad series continues with some highly detailed information on how you could move to Vancouver.

51 Food and Drink: The Skinny team tries out a selection of funky, intriguing teas with varying results. Plus our monthly food events round-up, and some new venues to check out.

REVIEW

55 Music: Chats with Citizen Bravo, False Bliss and Megan Airlie; a selection of musical events not to be missed; reviews of some of the month’s best albums.

60 Clubs: Helena Hauff and Tama Sumo

interview one another ahead of their sets at Terminal V, we profile Dundee’s Hilltown Disco label, and highlight a few of April’s best club nights.

64 Books: A collection of April’s poetry news and events, and a whole host of new releases reviewed.

65 Art: Where Art Now? brings the oddly

titled exhibitions and opportunities news, plus reviews of Andrew Kerr and Prunella Clough.

66 Film & TV: Reviews of theatrical releas-

es including Mid 90s, Pet Sematary and Wild Rose. Plus a council TV special for your At Home viewing, featuring Fleabag and Alan Partridge.

68 Theatre: We inspect the programme for Rep Stripped, how to get cheap tickets, and theatre news.

71 Comedy: We speak to Kieran Hodgson

as he brings his 2018 Fringe show, ’75, back to Scotland. In ICYMI, Ashley Storrie watches Murphy Brown.

73 Listings: Listings! What’s on where, throughout the month.

April 2019

Contents

pringwatch, month two, where we again open every monthly column with ‘Now it’s spring!’ despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. We remain optimistic in our outlook, however, and dream of summer days where we can go outdoors without losing a layer of skin to the Arctic wind, to listen to live music in a field or Mediterranean urban setting, for example. In celebration of this dream we (mainly Tallah, tbf) have put together an expansive music festivals special, rolling all of our usual annual coverage of events Scottish, British and European into a 12 page supplement including a rundown of the many many highlights of 2019’s festival calendar across the rest of this continent we still, at time of writing at least, happily belong to. We also have a focus on Scottish festivals (including a lovely map to illustrate their wide geographic spread), words with Pip Blom, a dance-focused hitlist from our clubs section, and a look at the ethics of festival attendance, i.e. how to camp in a field without leaving behind vast swathes of plastic shit. If you’re in need of some guidance on what to pack, fear not, we are here with sensible advice like ‘take a waterproof jacket and sunscreen cos Scotland’. Music continues after its in-depth festival focus, speaking to Edinburgh locals Callum Easter, Faith Eliott and Idlewild about their latest releases. We meet Liverpool’s Stealing Sheep, talk pop with Ela Orleans and discuss being a ‘sexy party band’ with Washington DC’s Priests. In Film, we meet comedian-turned-filmmaker Bo Burnham to hear about his directorial debut Eighth Grade, exploring teen angst in the age of the internet. As Glasgow-set country and western tale Wild Rose arrives in cinemas, we meet star Jessie Buckley to discuss mastering the accent and wanting to make the city proud. Writerdirector Alice Rohrwacher introduces Happy as Lazzaro, and explains how she embraced fairytale rhythms and magic realism to tell a politically potent tale about the evils of capitalism. Art celebrates the work of older artists with a look at new group show Timefield, arriving in Easterhouse’s Platform this month. As DCA’s 20th birthday celebrations continue, we take a closer look at the history of the space, talking to a few of the people who have helped to shape what it is

COVER ARTIST Susie Purvis Susie Purvis is a London-based illustrator and printmaker, who loves to draw people, places and things using bold, playful colours. You can see more of her work at susiepurvis.com

Chat

today. Our Local Heroes column is back from Japan and ready to continue the focus on Scottish craft and design (which has thus far mapped out over 80 practitioners over 17 columns, fact fans!). This month we’re looking at some more makers from Scotland’s creatively diverse ceramics scene. In You Will be Safe Here, debut novelist Damian Barr journeys to South Africa in a narrative that veers between life in the Britishrun concentration camps of the 1901 Boer War and 2010 Johannesburg. He talks to us about the global crisis in masculinity, the colonial legacy and the empathetic possibilities of fiction. Theatre has a busy month – we meet the people behind improv-performance night Something Smashing, hear about Sarah Bebe Holmes’ sell-out Fringe show Egg (which discusses fertility using acrobatics) and offer a survey of LGBTQ+ representation in Scottish theatre. We also take a look at the Dundee Rep programme Rep Stripped, and provide you with invaluable information on how to get to the theatre for cheap. Essential stuff. In Lifestyle, Food continues its bid to taste test increasingly specific foodstuffs by foolishly asking The Skinny office for their views on a weird and not even slightly wonderful selection of teas. Did you know they make tea granules? Horrifying. Expect much dissent and urine comparisons aplenty. Travel continues to offer polite suggestions of places you might prefer to live, this month travelling to Vancouver cos at least our relationship with Canada must still be OK right? Intersections explores the concept of slow dating, an attempt to dial back the stress and maximise actual connection in an age of swipebased dating. One Brazilian correspondent describes the turmoil of watching from afar as your country veers to the right. Finally, bringing us back around to that festivals theme, Clubs orchestrates a head to head between Helena Hauff and Tama Sumo ahead of their appearances at Terminal V’s Royal Highland Centre Easter weekend party. They discuss their respective careers, offering a surprising emphasis on the importance of sleep. I think we can all learn something from that. [Rosamund West]

By Jock Mooney

Editorial

Digital Vigilance This month’s columnist reflects on her relationship with her mother near the end of her life Words: Emily Benita

“P

hone, broken,” says Mum, squinting at her iPhone 4. I take it from her to give it my own assessment, the bright turquoise and pink plastic case smooth and cold in my palm. “What’s wrong with it, Ma?” “Stuck in loop. Messages. Won’t send.” Mum sinks into her chair to recover from the effort of saying this sentence. There is a text waiting in the composition box to Mum’s friend, a local healer supplying her with aromatherapy sprays and herbal tinctures. I scroll through the previous exchange gingerly. On the left-hand side, greyed-out boxes filled with angel and heart emojis, spiritual bon mots. On the right-hand side, royal-blue boxes that just say, “Thanks” or “Ok”. I’m annoyed with the autocorrect for not stylising OK properly. That’s what it's for. The message that’s sitting in the inbox has a bit more to it this time. I press send. “Delivered” fades into view. “It sent that time, Ma.” “Broken.” Supporting Mum’s dignity whilst her faculties are rapidly dismantled by cancer is a delicate balance. I used to pride myself on being perceptive to others’ needs. But I’m at a loss. I’m

witnessing loss. I’m bracing myself for loss. I repeat the word so much that I stretch it out. It becomes bland and tacky, like an over chewed piece of gum. There is nothing wrong with Mum’s phone. She doesn’t have the strength in her hand after taking ten minutes to write a short text to hit ‘Send’ with the pressure required. Do I tell her the truth? She always wanted the facts so she could make up her own mind. My opinion on technology and progress waxes and wanes with each hour. I’ve bought myself an iPhone X. Mum has given me some money, more money than I’ve ever had in a bank account, for the last reason I’ve ever wanted it. If you think life admin is hard, try death admin. The occupational therapists have brought in mechanised beds and chairs. Steroids stop Mum from being sick so we can eat pistachio gelato together without consequence. Meanwhile, I take a spin on the wheel of misfortune that is Tinder. I play pointless games. I listen to podcasts. I don’t leave her side. I send texts from her phone to mine, just to make sure. ‘Test.’ ‘1 New Message.’ “You’re right, Ma. It’s broken. I’ll fix it.”

THE SKINNY

Shot of the Month The Internet, SWG3, Glasgow, 22 Mar by Aimee Young

The Skinny on Tour In honour of this month’s Festivals special, we’re off to one of the world’s premier festivals of performing arts via our Photoshop-powered time machine. We’d have taken a photo last year, you see, but this particular festival wasn’t running in 2018. This farm-based fest is pretty enormous – it’s got everything from giant flamethrowing spiders to tiny acoustic stages to some of the biggest names in music. In fact, the only thing it’s

missing is some farmyard animals – the cows that live here the rest of the time are carted off elsewhere for the duration. Our snap comes from a Sunday afternoon down by the iconic Pyramid stage at the centre of the festival. Truly, we are not Worthy. Worked out where we’ve been? Head over to theskinny. co.uk/competitions and let us know – one eagle-eyed observer will win a hardback copy of The Ice House by Tim Clare courtesy of the party animals over at Canongate. Closes 28 Apr

Online Only

Competition Win VIP Tickets to FLY Open Air 2019 Bear Grylls

The Skinny on EH-FM That’s right, we’re on the radio! Join our music editor Tallah Brash and clubs editor Nadia Younes every Monday from noon for a two-hour guide to the week ahead across Scotland. Songs, gig recommendations, top-notch radio-friendly patter – we have it all. Catch the show live via ehfm.live, Mondays 12-2pm, or listen again at theskinny.co.uk/music

The cinematic influences of Jordan Peele's Us Jordan Peele stakes his claim as a great American director with his follow up to Get Out; we look at some of the fellow greats he emulates in his second feature. Check out the list at theskinny.co.uk/film/opinion

Fergus Linehan on Edinburgh International Festival 2019 The EIF director introduces an impressive line-up featuring Jarvis Cocker and Kate Tempest, an operatic take on Breaking the Waves, and a free opening concert by the LA Phil... at Tynecastle. “Even though it's a free concert, it's still Gustavo Dudamel, who's the most famous conductor in the world probably... plus we've

also never done anything in a football stadium before, so that's fun.” Read the full interview at theskinny.co.uk/festivals

Enter your short film for The Cineskinny on Tour Our short film showcase is taking a tour across Scotland this May, and we want to screen some of your films! Deadline for entries is 13 Apr; get all the details at bit.ly/cineskinnytour Go on an Interactive Bear Grylls Adventure Following the success of Bandersnatch, Bear Grylls is next up for Netflix's interactive storytelling format – to help you with your decision-making, we've crafted a little adventure for everyone's favourite Boy Scout. Head off on a pee-stained, action-packed adventure at theskinny.co.uk/tv-radio

Martha on Love Keeps Kicking Durham’s favourite twee-punks are back with their third album; we catch up with guitarist JC Cairns to talk through some of the stories behind the record. Read the interview at theskinny.co.uk/music

Find more at theskinny.co.uk

April 2019

Scotland’s leading house and techno festival FLY Open Air returns to the regal setting of Hopetoun House stately home just outside Edinburgh on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 May for its biggest party to date. Having expanded from one to two days in 2018, the May festival will see Diynamic label boss Solomun headline, making his first Scottish appearance in over ten years. Pioneering acts Nina Kraviz, Peggy Gou, Sven Väth and many more are also on the bill, with FLY Open Air’s distinctive combination of breathtaking location and unrivalled line-up making it a must-visit event for electronic music fans in 2019. We have a pair of VIP weekend passes to give away to one lucky reader; to be in with a chance of winning them, simply head to theskinny.co.uk/ competitions, and answer the following question: Which FLY Open Air artist is returning to play in Scotland for the first time in over ten years? a) Peggy Gou b) Nina Kraviz c) Solomun Competition closes midnight Sun 28 Apr. Entrants must be 18 or over. Prize is non-transferable and to be collected on-site at FLY Open Air, photo ID will be required. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 48 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Our full Terms & Conditions can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms

FLY Open Air

Chat

Nilüfer Yanya

Tue 9 Apr

Wed 10 Apr

Beginning this month and continuing into May, Filmhouse will host a Stanley Kubrick retrospective to coincide with Stanley Kubrick: The Exhibition at The Design Museum in London, running from 26 April-15 September. Kubrick’s adaptation of Anthony Burgess’s novel, A Clockwork Orange will screen twice today, concluding a four-day run at the cinema. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, times & prices vary

The thought of revisiting your childhood diary may feel mortifying and cringeinducing to most, but to Scottish theatre maker Cora Bissett it was an opportunity to make art. What Girls Are Made Of is the true story of Bissett’s girl-to-woman journey, showing at Tramway until 13 April before heading to Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre later in the month, from 16-20 April. Tramway, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £15

Would you expect anything less than a show described as “outrageously camp” from Julian Clary? His new show, Born to Mince – which had the original cryptic working title of Bed Knobs and Knee Pads – will see Clary do some comedy, sing some songs and read some snippets from his upcoming memoir, A Night at the Lubricant. The Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, 6.30pm, £27

A Clockwork Orange

What Girls Are Made Of

Mon 15 Apr

Ever wanted to watch Little Darlings, Girlfriends, Frances Ha and Romy and Michele's High School Reunion all in one go? Well your prayers have been answered, and by Pity Party Film Club specifically. Their all-day event Suitable Women: Films of Female Friendship allows you the opportunity to watch as many of the above as you would like in one all-day sitting. CCA, Glasgow, times & prices vary

As they continue their tour of the UK with their latest production, BalletBoyz make another stop in Scotland, this time in Glasgow. Them/ Us features two new works by the internationallyacclaimed and Olivier award-winning all-male dance company. The former is a collaborative work by the BalletBoyz company dancers, while the latter features all the BalletBoyz dancers exploring human connections. Theatre Royal, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £13-30

Former Danity Kane and Diddy-Dirty Money member, Dawn Richard, AKA DAWN, released her latest solo record, new breed, back in January. It came just a few months after DAWN embarked on a reunion tour with her Danity Kane bandmates Aubrey O'Day and Shannon Bex in the US, announced in an Instagram post with the caption “new albums, new era, grown us.” Mysterious. The Blue Arrow, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £15.40

Frances Ha

BalletBoyz, Them/Us

Photo: Hugo Glendinning

Sun 14 Apr

Photo: Metrodome

Sat 13 Apr

Photo: Sid Scott

Mon 8 Apr

Sun 21 Apr

The latest edition of Silent Cinema includes screenings of three silent film comedy classics, starring an icon of the genre. Neighbours, The Haunted House and Sherlock Jr. will all be shown as part of the Buster Keaton Triple Bill, with an accompanying musical soundtrack by celebrated pianist Forrester Clifton Pyke livening up proceedings. Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, 7.30pm, £15

It may not be Halloween, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy a little horror. To get you in the spooky spirit, six months in advance, Glasgow Horror Fest bring back the bite size edition of the festival. Two feature films and a short horror film programme will be screened, with a selection of stalls and vendors offering horrorthemed wares for your perusal. Blackfriars Bar, Glasgow, 4.30pm, £8

Terminal V

Photo: Ben Glasgow

Fri 19 Apr

Sat 20 Apr

Buster Keaton

Techno fingers in the air! The latest instalment of Terminal V, The Rising takes place over 11 hours across six stages, with three stage takeovers by Sneaky Pete’s, Paradise Palms and Wunderground. Minimal techno pioneer Richie Hawtin headlines, making his first Edinburgh appearance in 18 years, alongside Helena Hauff, Daniel Avery, Tama Sumo and more. Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh, 12pm, £67.44

Glasgow Horror Fest

Thu 25 Apr

Fri 26 Apr

Jazz legends, punk icons and gospel pioneers are among those celebrated in annual music documentary film festival Doc'n Roll. The festival will make its Scottish debut, with six film screenings over four days and a series of Q&As. Highlights include Gina Birch and Helen Reddington’s Stories from the She Punks and a tribute to the Queen of Jazz, Pure Love: The Voice of Ella Fitzgerald. Cameo, Edinburgh, times & prices vary

Following on from her debut novel, Die, My Love, which was shortlisted for the 2018 Man Booker International Prize, Argentinian writer Ariana Harwicz’s latest translated novel, Feebleminded is due for release next month via Edinburgh publisher Charco Press. Harwicz will discuss the novel at Waterstones, with the conversation chaired by prizewinning writer Daniel Hahn. Waterstones Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, 7pm, free

Chat

The Library Music Film

Julian Clary

Photo: Cameron Brisbane

Matilda The Musical

Photo: Michi Nakao

Coming off the back of a support slot on Sharon Van Etten’s North American tour, Nilüfer Yanya heads out on her biggest headline tour to date this month. The tour kicks off in the delightfully-named venue of Babylon in Istanbul – Yanya’s father’s ancestral homeland – and is in support of her debut album, Miss Universe, which came out on 22 March. CCA, Glasgow, 7pm, £12

DAWN

Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt

Photo: Robin Baumgarten

Spring has sprung so staying in because it’s too cold outside is no longer an excuse; get your calendar packed to the rafters with all this fun and games...

Throwback to your childhood with this new stage adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book Matilda from the Royal Shakespeare Company. Written by Dennis Kelly and with original songs by comedian Tim Minchin, Matilda The Musical has won multiple awards internationally, including 16 for Best Musical, and will be showing at the Edinburgh Playhouse throughout the month. Edinburgh Playhouse, 7.30pm, £15-77.50

Mon 22 Apr Brush up on your gaming lingo – pwned, FTW, n00b etc. – and feel like a real pro when you head along to the V&A Dundee’s latest exhibition, Videogames: Design/Play/ Disrupt. The exhibition concentrates on the design and development of video games since the mid-2000s when major technological advancements transformed the way games are designed, discussed and played. V&A Dundee, Dundee, until 8 Sep

TheAriana Dark Carnival Harwicz

THE SKINNY

Photo: Carolina Vargas

Compiled by: Nadia Younes

Wed 3 Apr

Photo: Manuel Harlan

Heads Up

Tue 2 Apr

Sat 6 Apr

Sun 7 Apr

On the first Thursday of every month, Drygate launch four new beers as part of their Spectrum Series, the new monthly schedule of releases from 250L Studio Brewery (Drygate Brewing Co., Glasgow, 12pm, free). And you could use it as a pre-party if you’re heading to see disco pioneer Giorgio Moroder, often dubbed the 'father of disco' later that night. Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, 6.30pm, £67-135

This year’s late night party series at Counterflows focuses on experimental music from the South American diaspora. Tonight’s Late Night Counterflows Social 2 will feature performances by Brazilian artists MC Carol and Lyzza, as well as Scotland-based, Latinx, non-binary artist Nena Etza, while the following night, Afro-Colombian artist Jim C. Nedd and Milan-based Palm Wine team up for a Guarapo DJ set. The Art School, Glasgow, 11pm, £6

Attention Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans! Nicholas Brendon, AKA Xander Harris, and Iyari Limon, who appeared as Kennedy, one of the potential slayers, in the final series of the iconic show, will both be special guests at this year’s Edinburgh Comic Con. Joining them as another special guest will be Digimon voice actor Joshua Seth and all your usual exhibitors. EICC, Edinburgh, 10am, £0-25

Who said veganism was all about clean eating? Vegans deserve cheat days too, and you can feel free to cheat away at My Big Fat Vegan Market. Showcasing the best vegan junk food brands Scotland has to offer, stallholders on the day will include Cool Jerk Vegan Pies, MAYZE Coffee & Food, The Herbivore Kitchen, Yogi Oils and Society Zero. The Briggait, Glasgow, 11am, £3-3.50

Edinburgh Comic Con

Fri 12 Apr

Wide Days takes place over three days in Scotland’s capital, featuring networking events, panel talks with industry professionals and a live music showcase programme. This year, the convention will also include a festival takeover on Saturday, with three of Scotland’s best festivals – Electric Fields, Kelburn Garden Party and Tenement Trail – presenting a lineup of musical acts. Various venues, Edinburgh, times & prices vary

Aberdonian party crew Nothing More To Say has livened up the North East club scene over the past few years, bringing big name DJs like DJ Deeon, Peggy Gou, Mall Grab and more to a handful venues across the city. They celebrate their fourth birthday this month, with a little assistance from recently-announced FLY Club resident Eclair Fifi and Canadian sensation Peach going B2B. The Tunnels, Aberdeen, 11pm, £10-12

Wuh Oh

Credit: Jannica Honey

Thu 11 Apr

Peach

Thu 18 Apr

While we all sit and wonder what is or isn’t going on with Brexit at the moment, exhibition Borderlines offers imaginative ways of representing and thinking about frontiers to coincide with the massive political shitstorm. The group exhibition features the work of ten artists, including collaborative works, and gives form to the conceptual, geo-political, economic and cultural impacts of borders. Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh, until 4 May

And while we’re on the theme of Brexit – as if you haven’t heard that word enough over the past few months – Kieran Hodgson’s latest show, '75, looks back on how Britain joined Europe in the first place. The show was nominated for the 2018 Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show, but missed out on the prize to Rose Matafeo’s excellent Horndog. The Stand, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £13

The Granite City gets a fresh lick of paint as 13 world-renowned street artists descend upon Nuart Aberdeen this month. The street art festival, originating in Stavanger, Norway, first arrived in Aberdeen in 2017 and following two successful outings, it’s back for its third year. Artists participating this year include Miami-born Axel Void, Berlin-based Evol and British artist Helen Bur. Various venues, Aberdeen, until 21 Apr

Kieran Hodgson

Wed 24 Apr

Kiri Pritchard-McLean tackles the important subject of gaslighting in her latest show, Victim, Complex. Inspired by Pritchard-McLean’s own experiences of gaslighting in a past relationship, the show is an emotional, confessional hour but also a masterclass in joke-telling. If you haven’t already, we also recommend you give her All Killa No Filla podcast with fellow comedian Rachel Fairburn a listen. The Stand, Edinburgh, 7.30pm, £10-12.50

Aurélie Fontan brings her graduate collection to the Edinburgh Science Festival this month. With her focus on biodesign and ethical manufacture processes, Tensegrity shows the positive combination of craft and technology. Fontan has spent the past two years working at ASCUS Art & Science Lab, researching and practising biodesign with slime mould and kombucha applied to fashion artefacts. Summerhall, Edinburgh, until 19 May

Kiri Pritchard McLean

Photo: Kayla Wren

Tue 23 Apr

Photo: Matt Stronge

Wed 17 Apr

Photo: Courtesy of the artist

Tue 16 Apr

Khvay Samnang, Preah Kunlong

Mon 29 Apr

Multi-arts festival Outskirts returns with another eclectic programme of live music, theatre, dance and visual art. The festival’s Easterhouse Conversation strand is back for the fifth year, with Suzanne Rodden and Lewis Cook of Free Love and Eilidh Rodgers of Sacred Paws taking part in this year’s edition. There will also be food provided on the day by Dennistoun Bar-B-Que. Platform, Glasgow, 3.30pm, £7.50-10

With the rumours recently confirmed that Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter will reprise their roles as Bill and Ted in the comedy film series, the timing seems perfect to delve into Reeves’ back catalogue at KeanuCon. Included in this year’s programme is a double bill of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey to get you hyped for part three. CCA, Glasgow, times & prices vary

Following a retrospective of her work at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, the first solo institutional exhibition of the work of Senga Nengudi is currently being shown at The Fruitmarket Gallery. The Chicago-born artist is regarded as being at the forefront of the avant garde black art scene, with just some of her work taking in sculpture, performance and installation. The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, until 26 May

April 2019

Photo: Katherine Rose

Sun 28 Apr

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Helen Bur

Aurélie Fontan, Tensegrity

Sat 27 Apr

Eilidh Rodgers

The Herbivore Kitchen

Photo: Corsano Leopizzi

MC Carol

Senga Nengudi, Ceremony for Freeway Fets

Chat

Photo: Quaku/Roderick Young

Giorgio Moroder

Photo: Fernando Schlaepfer

Fri 5 Apr

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Thu 4 Apr

Especially for EU From glacier raves to partying like a Viking, festivals at observatories, castles and on former industrial sites, enjoy The Skinny's guide to 2019 UK and EU music festivals

Words: Tallah Brash

he very thought of a music festival can fill even the most hardened of people with absolute fear, dread and anxiety; for others, it’s a chance to use up some of that well-earned annual leave while doing the thing you love most, watching your favourite bands play your favourite songs - sometimes in a waterlogged field full of wallopers, sometimes in nicer surroundings. It can also be a great way to incorporate a city break. Who doesn’t love exploring somewhere new during the day while catching your favourite bands at night? That’s right, nobody. Flow Festival

Less than an hour south on the train from central London, The Great Escape (9-11 May) takes over every nook and cranny of Brighton for its extensive music industry conference series as well as once again welcoming up-and-coming talent from all over the world to the seaside town. In the nearby(ish) Winchester, Boomtown returns to the Matterley Estate (7-11 Aug) with a host of excellent artists set to play, including a strong turn from those beginning with the letter S: Salt-N-Pepa, Stella Donnelly, She Drew the Gun and Shanti Celeste, we’re looking at you. A little further west to Larmer Tree Gardens and you’ll find Larmer Tree Festival (18-21 Jul) and End of the Road (29 Aug-1 Sep), the latter offering one of the last big outdoor festival hoorahs of the UK summer season, with Beirut, Courtney Barnett and Mitski all playing. And just under an hour down the road from there you’ll hit the site of family friendly Camp Bestival (Lulworth Castle, Dorset, 25-28 Jul), curated by Josie and Rob da Bank, with this year’s bill featuring The Human League, Napalm Death and Vengaboys. Fun for all the family. In Bristol, alternative festival ArcTanGent returns to Fernhill Farm (15-17 Aug), with a line-up featuring Meshuggah, Battles and 65daysofstatic, while later in the month Lauryn Hill, Grace Jones and Loyle Carner play The Downs (The Downs, 31 Aug). WOMAD, ‘The World’s Festival’ returns to Reading’s Charlton Park from 25-28 July and Wilderness Festival (Cornbury Park, 1-4 Aug) in Oxfordshire is where it’s at if you’re planning on catching Robyn at a UK festival this summer. It’s seriously her only UK festival date. Birmingham’s Secret Solstice Photo: Ross Silcocks

UK For a relatively small lump of rock, the UK fair packs a punch when it comes to the number of music festivals on offer. After a year off to give the land, local population and organisers a break, the much-loved Glastonbury (26-30 Jun) returns this year to Worthy Farm. But Glastonbury isn’t the be all and end all when it comes to UK festivals. In London, if you’re up for some top bants, Mighty Hoopla (Brockwell Park, 8 Jun) could be the one for you. With Chaka Khan headlining and All Saints, Kate Nash, Samantha Mumba (!!!) and C.O.O.L. Aussie party-starters Confidence Man all set to play, we’re 100% on board. Field Day (Meridian Water, 7-8 Jun) is back this year in a brand new, never been used before location, featuring four massive warehouses and a ten-acre expansive outdoor space; Lovebox (Gunnersby Park, 12-13 Jul) have banked the mighty Solange, plus some UK exclusives from Brockhampton, H.E.R. and Cypress Hill performing Black Sunday; and after launching last year, All Points East (Victoria Park, 24-26 May; 31 May-2 Jun) returns for its sophomore outing with The Strokes, Christine and the Queens and Bon Iver. Meanwhile, the newly-launched Naked City (Beckenham Place Park, 27 Jul) welcomes Neneh Cherry for their inaugural year, and it’s time for Nile Rodgers to have a Meltdown as he takes on curation duties at the Southbank Centre’s festival this year (3-11 Aug).

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forward-thinking Supersonic Festival also returns to Digbeth this year (19-21 Jul) with Neurosis, Moor Mother and Godflesh all set to play. Wakefield’s largest music and culture festival Long Division is back from 29 May-2 June with 100 performers set to descend upon the market town on the Saturday. In Macclesfield, you’ll find Bluedot once again at the Jodrell Bank Observatory (home to the Lovell Telescope) from 18-21 July, helping celebrate 50 years since Apollo 11 landed on the moon. Hot Chip, Kraftwerk 3-D and New Order all headline. Manchester’s festival season begins with Parklife (Heaton Park, 8-9 Jun), featuring Cardi B, NAO, Pusha T and Kaytranada among its stacked line-up, while the Manchester International Festival rolls into town from 4-21 July with Janelle Monáe playing the opening night. In Liverpool, Sound City and Sound City + kick things off from 3-5 May in the city’s industrial Baltic Triangle area, with packed live and conference programmes respectively. Africa Oyé, the UK’s largest free celebration of African music and culture, is back in Sefton Park from 22-23 June and in the same location, from 20-21 July, Liverpool International Music Festival returns with De La Soul. FOCUS Wales 2019 gets things going in, well, Wales with over 200 bands playing across 20 stages, plus industry panels and discussions (Wrexham, 16-18 May); the world’s largest philosophy and music festival HowTheLightGetsIn takes place the following weekend in Hay-on-Wye (24-27 May), and from 15-18 August Green Man Festival welcome Four Tet (Live), Sharon Van Etten and Aldous Harding to the beautiful Brecon Beacons. Across the water, our border pals in the Republic of Ireland start their festival season in the Trabolgan Holiday Village, East Cork with It Takes a Village (10-12 May); Body and Soul (21-23 Jun) follows at Ballinlough Castle, Co. Westmeath for its 10th birthday celebrations and Electric Picnic rounds things out at Stradbally Hall, Co. Laois (30 Aug-1 Sep) with The 1975, The Strokes and Róisín Murphy.

MUSIC FESTIVALS

Photo: Jussi Hellsten

Europe There’s also a lot on offer, as it currently stands, across the rest of Europe (insert snide remark about the colossal fuck-up that is Brexit here), and it can, in some cases, be easier to get to, say, Poland, than it is an awkward corner of the UK. Tickets for a lot of EU festivals outwith the UK tend to be cheaper too, so why not pack up your troubles and go spend some time abroad with your favourite bands. Starting in the Netherlands, their music scene is pretty bloody impressive and fortunately their festival calendar is just as strong. From city-based jaunts like Eurosonic (Groningen, 15-18 Jan 2020), a showcase music festival and conference series taking place at the start of the year, to the avant-garde Le Guess Who? (Utrecht, 7-10 Nov), there’s also something to be found for jazz fans with the North Sea Jazz Festival (Rotterdam, 12-14 Jul), which this year features performances from Macy Gray, Jacob Banks, Burt Bacharach, Chance the Rapper, Hall and Oates and Lauryn Hill. For the fan of a festival in a field there’s Best Kept Secret (Beekse Bergen, Hilvarenbeek, 31 May-2 Jun) with Christine and the Queens, Bon Iver and Kraftwerk 3-D headlining; Down the Rabbit Hole (De Groene Heuvels, Ewijk, 5-7 Jul) with Janelle Monáe, Underworld and Foals, and Lowlands (Evenemententerrein Walibi Holland, Biddinghuizen, 16-18 Aug), which this year features Anderson .Paak, The National and Jorja Smith. In Belgium, the absolutely gargantuan line-up of Rock Werchter (Festivalpark, Werchter, 27-30 Jun) will keep most music fans happy with turns from The 1975, Lizzo, Ólafur Arnalds, P!nk, Robyn and more; Cactus Festival (5-7 Jul) then welcomes Cat Power, Parquet Courts, Band of Horses and Bloc Party to Minnewaterpark, Bruges, and the following month, Pukkelpop (15-18 Aug) welcomes Anderson .Paak to Hasselt. The summer season gets under way in France with Interpol, James Blake and Macklemore at Garorock (Marmande, 27-30 Jun), before things get well Celtic in Brittany at Festival Interceltique de Lorient (Lorient, 2-11 Aug), while La Route du Rock lands

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“ If you’re not completely repulsed at the thought of being in the same place at the same time as Ed Sheeran, then there’s plenty of other, not-generic stuff going down at Sziget” Other festivals to look out for in Spain are Azkena Rock Festival (Vitoria-Gasteiz, 21-22 Jun), Bilbao BBK Live (Bilbao, 11-13 Jul), Mad Cool (Madrid, 11-13 Jul), Sónar (Barcelona, 18-20 Jul),

Colours of Ostrava

Am Ring (Nürburgring, Nürburg, 7-9 Jun), before Melt! Festival, one of the biggest open-air festivals in the country comes to the Ferropolis open-air museum, near Gräfenhainichen (19-21 Jul), with Bon Iver, A$AP Rocky and Arca. In Berlin, Pop Kultur’s programme includes live music, DJs, exhibitions, installations, talks and films at Kulturbrauerei (21-23 Aug) and Billie Eilish, Scooter (!!!) and Sigrid are set to play Lollapallooza (Olympiastadion & Olympiapark, 7-8 Sep), the German leg of the Chicago-born festival. Reeperbahn (Hamburg, 18-21 Sep) then bids farewell to the summer with a packed conference and music programme featuring Efterklang, Lisa Morgenstern and Anna Ternheim vs. Kaiser Quartett. In the Nordics things kick off in Denmark with SPOT (Aarhus, 2-4 May) and a focus on showcasing up-and-coming Danish and Scandinavian talent. Roskilde (Roskilde, 29 May-7 Jun) then offers eight days of ‘music, activism, arts, camps and freedom’ with Bob Dylan, Parquet Courts, Tirzah and Tears for Fears, and back in Aarhus, Northside (6-8 Jun) welcomes Georgia, IDLES and Mark Ronson. As one of the world’s first carbon neutral festivals, Finland’s Flow Festival returns to Suvilahti, a former energy production area in Sörnäinen, Helsinki (9-11 Aug) with Erykah Badu, The Black Madonna and Yves Tumor all set to play, while on the same weekend Sweden’s award-winning Way Out West festival returns to Slottsskogen, Gothenburg (8-10 Aug).

Norway then offers up the ever-popular Øya (Tøyenparken, Oslo, 6-10 Aug) with Robyn, Sigrid, Tame Impala and Blood Orange, and Midgardsblot (Midgard Vikingsenter, Borre, 15-17 Aug), an actual metal and Viking festival has our interest well and truly piqued. With a line-up that features an obscene number of indecipherable band names, a beer festival, Viking village and market, and a beach campsite, we are fully on board. Vikings! The final destination on our festival circuit finds us in the breathtaking surrounds of Iceland’s capital, Reykjavík, for one midsummer option and one winter. Secret Solstice (21-23 Jun), aka The Midnight Sun Festival, features the world’s only rave in a glacier cave as well as intimate performances in a 5000 year old lava tunnel. Big names on the bill include the Black Eyed Peas, Robert Plant and Patti Smith. If 72 hours of non-stop daylight doesn’t appeal, then the much later in the year – with days that don’t get light until after 9am and are dark again before 5pm – Iceland Airwaves (6-9 Nov) could be for you. This way there’ll also be an opportunity to see the Northern Lights. The stunning Alexandra Stréliski is set to play this year alongside Hildur and Anna of the North with loads more still to be announced. And breathe. Whether you’ve been inspired to try something new this festival year, or you’re a creature of comfort and decide to go back to your favourite, we hope you have a bloody excellent time. For a playlist inspired by this year’s festival circuit, head to theskinny.co.uk/ music

April 2019

MUSIC FESTIVALS

Photo: Eric Pamies

Primavera Sound

Photo: Michal Lukáč

Benicàssim (18-21 Jul) and Rototum Sunsplash (Benicàssim, 16-22 Aug), which is one of the biggest reggae festivals in Europe. Meanwhile in Portugal, NOS Alive (Passeio Marítimo de Algés, 11-13 Jul), metal festival Sonic Blast (Moledo, 8-10 Aug), Paredes de Coura (14-17 Aug), Milhões de Festa (Barcelos, 5-8 Sep) and Nova Batida (LX Factory and Village Underground, Lisbon, 13-15 Sep) will keep you more than happy. Italy also has some exciting options to get you through the summer. Metal festival Metalitalia (Trezzo sull’Adda, Milan, 1-2 Jun) starts off the season, followed swiftly by the completely free Beaches Brew (Marina di Ravenna, 3-6 Jun) with Courtney Barnett, Big Thief and Crack Cloud all on its line-up. It’s practically spitting distance from Bologna, and it’s also not a million miles from either Florence or Venice. Italian road trip anyone? Speaking of Venice, that’s where you’ll find the Aphex Twin and Jon Hopkins-featuring HOME Festival (Parco San Giuliano, 12-14 Jul). Ypsigrock (Castelbuono, Sicily, 8-11 Aug) then follows with Spiritualized, Whitney and Let’s Eat Grandma. While Croatia is perhaps best known for its dance music festivals, its biggest international open-air festival InMusic can be found in Zagreb (Lake Jarun, 24-26 May), with Foals, Garbage, Santigold, Peter Bjorn and John, Fontaines D.C. and The Hives all playing this year. In Hungary, if you’re not completely repulsed at the thought of being in the same place at the same time as Ed Sheeran, then there’s plenty of other, not-generic stuff going down at Sziget (Óbuda Island, Budapest, 7-13 Aug): Jungle, CHVRCHES, IDLES, Big Thief and IAMDDB being just a few options. In Romania, Florence and the Machine and Nils Frahm play Electric Castle (Bánffy Castle, Bonţida, 17-21 Jul), while Lady Leshurr and Pussy Riot play Awake (Teleki Castle, Gorneşti, 15-18 Aug). Slovakia sees the return of multi-genre music and arts festival Pohoda (Trenčín Airport, Trenčín, 11-13 Jul) with Lykke Li, Lianne La Havas and Mac DeMarco; Latvia’s Positivus (Salacgrīva, 26-27 Jul) welcome Underworld, The 1975 and Cut/Copy; Poland’s OFF Festival (Dolina Trzech Stawów, Katowice, 2-4 Aug) features Stereolab, Superorganism and Loyle Carner, and in the Czech Republic, at Colours of Ostrava (Ostrava, 17-20 Jul) you can party across 21 stages on the listed heritage site of a former ironworks, one of which is an auditorium in a former gasometer (!!!). Mogwai, Rosalía, MØ and Sons of Kemet are all set to perform. Foals, Die Antwoord, Slipknot, Tenacious D, The Smashing Pumpkins, The 1975 and Alice in Chains get the party started in Germany at Rock

Photo: Fiona Hunter

in Saint-Malo a few days later (14-17 Aug). In the winter months Pitchfork’s Pitchfork Paris takes over the Grande Halle de la Villette in the north of the city (dates tbc). While it does usually happen over Halloween weekend, it’s something they don’t really celebrate in France, so if you’re planning on going in fancy dress expect more than a few funny looks – you have been warned. Trans Musicales (4-8 Dec) follows in Rennes, Brittany, and is great for discovering the next big thing. Nirvana played there in 1991 don’t cha know! And if you’re more a fan of the slopes, then Rise (14-21 Dec), in the incredible Les 2 Alpes resort, could be the perfect end of year treat. Back in the sun, Spain and Portugal, both popular holiday destinations, are bulging with music festival options. Primavera Sound (Barcelona, 30 May-1 Jun) is probably the best festival we’ve ever been to; there’s something very special about having that first ice-cold pint on day one at the Parc del Fòrum that’s hard to put into words, and their line-up is always nothing short of exquisite. 2019 sees them introducing their line-up as ‘The New Normal’; packed with an array of incredible women, spanning all genres, we’re pretty fucking excited! Their Portuguese edition, NOS Primavera Sound takes place the following weekend in Porto (6-8 Jun).

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Simply the Fest With the summer festival season well and truly within tickling distance, we take a look at the rich musical tapestry that makes up Scotland's thriving and ever-evolving festival circuit Words: Tallah Brash

ong gone are the days of Connect, Indian Summer, Hinterland, Haddowfest, Rock Ness, Wickerman, Brew at the Bog and T in the Park, but much as the world continues to evolve, so does the festival landscape of Scotland, with new events seemingly popping up year on year. The truth of it is, you don’t need to travel that far to have a great festival experience filled with music and good times; from outdoor festivals (with and without camping), including family friendly options, to city centre multi-venue festivals and indoor all-dayers, from the major cities to the tiny Islands, let us guide you through the glimmering jewels of what Scotland’s festivals have to offer music fans throughout the rest of 2019. Here we, here we, here we fucking go. Or being less uncouth, let’s be havin’ it. Starting in the Central Belt seems to make the most sense. Glasgow kicks things off early this spring with Counterflows (various venues, Glasgow, 4-7 Apr), a festival of underground, experimental and international music in the city centre. Expect late night socials, film screenings and performances from the likes of Brazil’s MC Carol, cellist and composer Tomeka Reid and performance collective Katz Mulk. Tectonics Festival, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra’s festival of new and experimental music then returns across various venues from 4-5 May. On Sunday 5 May you can also treat yourself to multi-venue city festival Stag & Dagger who return with a line-up BBC 6 Music fans will surely be drooling over as Honeyblood, Dream Wife and Goat Girl all gear up to play. West End Festival returns to Glasgow’s, um, West End from 30 May-30 June, with we’re hoping another music-focused all-dayer which last year brought an impressive line-up to Òran Mór. After their inaugural event in 2018, Moonstruck on Clydeside’s Flying Moon Music & Arts Festival returns to Flying Duck on 15 June with Heir of the Cursed, Super Inuit and Carla J. Easton. The complete antithesis to this then comes in the form of the very mainstream, radio friendly TRNSMT, which takes over Glasgow Green once again for a weekend of mostly-middle-of-the-road pop and indie. While their line-up is very similar to their first outing in 2017, the acts they have are undeniably some of the biggest around right now – Sigrid, Kobi Onyame and The Big Moon are our top tips for this one. New on the Glasgow circuit this year is Playground Festival, taking place from 2-4 August in Rouken Glen Park, which, we have on good faith, used to be pretty well known for its zorbing potential and top notch garden centre, but in 2016 was named the UK’s best park. This year, Ms Lauryn Hill, Hot Chip, Anna Calvi, Little Dragon and Maribou State are all set to descend upon the East Renfrewshire park and needless to say we approve. Later in the year, Cryptic’s award-winning biennial festival Sonica returns to Glasgow for 11 days of live performances, installations and more from 31 October-10 November. In Edinburgh, the festival calendar kicks off with annual music convention Wide Days, with a bigger than ever music programme this year spread across three evenings from 11-13 April in the capital. Hidden Door returns for a ‘weekender’ from 30 May-2 June, once again at Leith Theatre, with Ray Blk, Let’s Eat Grandma, Kelly Lee Owens and Cigarettes After Sex announced to

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play. On the same weekend, Meadows Festival is back in – clue’s in the name – The Meadows with two stages set to be bursting with loads of local artists; Leith Late is set to return for a weekend of friendly vibes from 8-9 June, and later in the month Summerhall will host their Southern Exposure festival (21-22 Jun) featuring Pictish Trail, Meursault and Be Charlotte. Running since 1978 as the Edinburgh Jazz Festival, the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival then returns for ten days from 12-21 July before the Edinburgh International Festival takes over the city from 2-26 August with Anna Calvi, Sharon van Etten and Amadou and Mariam among their first wave of announcements. If you fancy a nostalgic weekend partying it up in some rather regal surroundings, Party at the Palace (Linlithgow Palace, West Lothian, 10-11 Aug) with Deacon Blue, KT Tunstall and Fun Lovin’ Criminals might just be the ticket. If you’re after something a bit more left-field, then get yourself to Jupiter Artland’s Jupiter Rising from 23-25 August with a bumper line-up including Cate Le Bon, The Comet is Coming and a late night stage curated by OH141. Elsewhere, Shuffle Down returns to Dobbie Hall in Larbert, near Falkirk from 26-27 April; SpringFest metal festival takes place at Church in Dundee on 11 May; Perth Festival of the Arts is back at various venues across Perth from 16-25 May and Solas Festival moves to a brand new location, Errol Park in Perthshire, from 21-23 June. Kelburn Garden Party celebrates its 10th birthday at the stunning Kelburn Castle, near Largs in North Ayrshire, from 5-8 July with a Leftfield DJ set, Ugly Duckling’s Andy Cooper performing live and Bossy Love headlining The Skinny’s Pyramid Stage takeover on the Saturday, and Doune the Rabbit Hole, at the Cardross Estate in Stirling, also celebrates ten years from 19-21 July with John Grant, Battles and Free Love all set to play. Sticking to weekend camping festivals that are also family friendly like Solas, Kelburn and Doune, setting our sights a little further south to the rolling countryside of Dumfries & Galloway you’ll find three more of Scotland’s finest. Knockengorroch World Ceilidh is the first to take place across the late May bank holiday weekend (23-26 May) in Kircudbrightshire’s Casphairn Hills. Known by most as just Knockengorroch, or lovingly as simply Knock, the festival features a mix of traditional, contemporary and world music artists with Elephant Sessions, Yoko Pwno and Moonlight Benjamin among this year’s line-up. Eden Festival, which started as an area of the Wickerman festival in 2002, has been running in its own right since 2009, and in the beautiful Raehills Meadows near Moffat since 2010. The festival takes place from 6-9 June and this year’s line-up features This is the Kit, Optimo (Espacio), John Cooper Clark, Flamingods and more. Rounding out our summer in the south is Electric Fields, set in the glorious grounds of Drumlanrig Castle in Thornhill. The festival, which celebrated its 5th birthday last year, has previously run at the more precarious end of the summer months, but this year sees it taking place from 4-6 July. Metronomy, Fat White Family and The Spook School were among its first announcement earlier in the year – a pretty good start if you ask us!

If you’re looking to venture further afield, and see even more of what this beautiful country has to offer in terms of scenery, then there’s plenty going on in the Highlands and Islands too. Oban Live kicks things off at Mossfield Stadium from 7-8 June with the Red Hot Chilli Pipers and Lucy Spraggan before creative industries festival XpoNorth returns to Inverness once again from 3-4 July, with panel discussions, workshops and music showcases. Then from 1-3 August, at the nearby Belladrum Estate in Beauly, Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival welcomes CHVRCHES, Elbow and Lewis Capaldi to its stages; True North returns to Aberdeen (19-22 Sep), and Loopallu returns to Ullapool (yes, Loopallu is Ullapool backwards) from 27-28 September. Meanwhile, island life can be your dream come true with plenty of options to choose from including Shetland Folk Festival (Lerwick, 2-5 May), St Magnus International Festival (Orkney, 21-27 Jun), Tiree Music Festival (Tiree, 12-14 Jul), Hebridean Celtic Festival (Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, 17-20 Jul), ButeFest

MUSIC FESTIVALS

(Rothesay, Isle of Bute, 26-28 Jul), Eilean Dorcha Festival (Liniclate Machair, Isle of Benbecula, 26-28 Jul) and Jura Music Festival (Jura, 27-29 Sept). Our top Island picks, however, would have to be Lost Map Records’ Howlin’ Fling (31 May-1 Jun) on the Inner Hebridean Isle of Eigg, which, given its diminutive population of just over 100, has in the past seen some outrageously big names come to the island including Jon Hopkins, Beth Orton, KT Tunstall, Slow Club and Alexis Taylor, to name a few, and Skye Live (5-7 Sep) at Portree on the Isle of Skye, which this year is set to feature The Waterboys, Niteworks, Martha Ffion and Erol Alkan. As you can see there’s a lot going on – whether you’re looking to do a bit of networking, want to take the kids to do something different, or just want to get well and truly festivalled oot yer nut this summer, Scotland has got you well and truly covered. Here we, here we, here we fucking go indeed! theskinny.co.uk/music

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April 2019

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In Full Bloom We talk to Dutch rising star Pip Blom about the importance of festivals to her namesake band while she’s immersed in her first SXSW, as well as her imminent debut album, Boat

ip Blom is calling from Austin, Texas in mid-March, which can only mean one thing. She’s at SXSW, the festival of festivals, the broiling monolithic stew of bands and brands, and fans, and even more bands (maybe the odd bleary-eyed, sleep-deprived music reporter too). It’s the first time for the Dutch 22-year-old, whose band shares her name; in fact, they’ve just played their first Stateside show. It could only have gone well – she’s fresh-voiced and unfazed. “We’re just taking it easy, hanging out. We just had a swim – it’s all been real nice so far,” she says breezily. The last 12 months have moved at light speed for Blom and her band, and it’s about to become even more packed, frantic even. After much buzz, numerous one-off releases, a concise but stall-setting EP, increased radio play, support slots for The Breeders, Franz Ferdinand and other huge acts, as well as high profile festival appearances (pause for breath), she is about to release her debut album Boat in May, and kick off a string of live shows that include a staggering number of festivals, the circuit for which seems to begin earlier and earlier each year. She’ll pop up at Glasgow’s Stag & Dagger, The Great Escape, and the likes of NOS Alive and Mad Cool in Portugal and Spain respectively. That’s not to mention the multiple SXSW shows she’ll play in the days following our conversation.

“ Festivals have been really important in reaching people who might not normally get the chance to hear our music. And I love the atmosphere”

While in the Netherlands Pip Blom is part of the underground, on this island the band are on the verge of being branded ‘the next big thing’. “I really want to stay as far away from that as possible,” says Blom. You could say Boat leans in to that though – it’s exuberant and playful, with more than a hint of Blur and Elastica, but there’s still a bit of scrappiness, a sense that this is just an initial form. Blom’s vocal style is particularly ear-catching. On the late album highlight Set of Stairs, her almost spoken word cadence brings to mind Life Without Buildings’ Sue Tompkins. The rest of the album is bouncy, hook-laden. Its predecessor is more idiosyncratic and vibey; this wants to pack in the most fun possible in the short time it has your attention. “I think the advantage with this project has been there’s more space to show different sides of who I am,” she says. “We’ve evolved together over the last three years. I mean these are simple, straightforward songs, and that’s how I want them to be, but I think we managed to get to something a little different. I’ve never released anything so big, so important to me, out into the world. It’s terrifying.” Branding Blom ‘underground’ is not telling quite the whole story. Music is a family affair for her – her dad Erwin was a member of post-punks Eton Crop, and friends with John Peel, for whom he recorded multiple sessions. “No pressure at all, certainly not the feeling that I have anything to live up to,” she says of her roots. “If anything, it just makes me feel unbelievably grateful for being exposed to music from such an early age, basically all my life.” Further complicating the picture are Blom’s views on Spotify’s positive effect on her career. As more established artists disowned the streaming service, Blom, in contrast, came to its defence. “It is of course quite difficult that they have so much power,” she admits now. “But, in the Netherlands there are just two people working at

Interview: Tony Inglis Spotify who create every single playlist for Dutch audiences. So, if they don’t like you, you’ve got a problem. You don’t really have a choice. It is a cool platform. It has helped us a lot, and is still helping us.” Being able to accept the importance of industry factors in helping her progress, while maintaining a sense of being outwith it, Blom is the model modern artist. While it’s a realistic, mature and forward-thinking approach, it would be unsurprising if those of a more defiantly DIY worldview took against it. Despite this recognition, as with most young acts, getting to the point of “blowing up” for Pip Blom has meant relentless touring, and mainly festivals. “Festivals have been really important in reaching people who might not normally get the chance to hear our music. And I love the atmosphere. It’s quite a bit different from playing clubby shows with all our own fans packed in.” Two thirds of the way through our call, the line drops. Blom was just excitedly listing the acts she hoped to catch while in Austin: bands like Squid, the combustible Oh Sees, and similarly much-hyped band and pals Sports Team (“It’s really weird getting to hang out with your friends at a festival halfway across the world”). Luckily, the line reconnects in enough time for her to depart on a grand, but apt, aspiration: “My biggest wish is to play Glastonbury, that would be the cherry on top.” Boat is released on 31 May via Heavenly Recordings Pip Blom play Stag & Dagger, Glasgow, 5 May; The Great Escape, Brighton, 9-11 May; Sea Change Festival, Totnes, 24-26 May; The Mash House, Edinburgh, 2 Jun; Field Day, London, 7-8 Jun; NOS Alive, Lisbon, Portugal, 12 Jul; Mad Cool, Madrid, Spain, 13 Jul; Y Not? Festival, Pikehall, Derbyshire, 25-28 Jul; Truck Festival, Hill Farm, Oxfordshire, 26-28 Jul; Deer Shed Festival, Topcliffe, North Yorkshire, 26-28 Jul; Port Eliot Festival, St Germans, Cornwall, 25-28 Jul; Lollapalooza, Berlin, Germany, 7-8 Sep pipblom.com

Pip Blom

Packing Essentials Earplugs We suggest taking not only one pair of earplugs out on the road with you this summer, but two – one proper pair like EarPeace for wearing when watching bands and DJs and one noiseblocking pair for when you’re trying to sleep on an inevitably noisy campsite.

April 2019

Practical fashion If you’re going to be in a field for a weekend, here’s what you need in terms of clothing and accessories: a good pair of wellies, walking boots or trainers you don’t mind losing to the festival gods; an actual waterproof jacket; a warm hat, gloves, scarf and a jumper for nighttime (campsites can get fucking cold); a baseball cap for during the day; sunglasses. Oh, and a bum bag is great for keeping things in that you need quick access to.

Photo: Phil Smithies

With all of this on the brink, enjoying it all, at least for now, seems most important. “It definitely seems like this big sprawling unmanageable thing,” Blom says of being in Austin amid the festival, “but we’ve just really tried to pick out who we want to see, to relax and try to actually enjoy it.” Blom, who hails from Amsterdam, has moved quickly in developing her voice as an artist, on top of attaining attention, from bedroom indie-pop to a plumper sound, rounded out by a band that includes her brother Tender. After releasing the EP Paycheck last year, and playing Eurosonic in her home country, it was British press and audiences that latched on. It’s unusual, but perfectly explainable, according to Blom. “I guess it’s as simple as the fact that there are just more people in the UK that like the kind of music we play. In Amsterdam, and throughout the Netherlands really, it’s more trap and hip-hop that are popular, there’s no platform for our little rock band. I know you have BBC Radio 1 which showcases big pop acts, but you also have space to give pretty wide exposure to bands like us.”

Hand sanitiser It’s no secret that festival toilets are gross. It’s also no secret that very few of them have soap or water in them. Boke. Think of that the next time you’ve just been to a festival toilet then go for a burger… delicious tasty bacteria. So be sensible and buy yourself a wee travel-sized bottle of hand sanitiser that you can discreetly have in your pocket at all times.

Toilet paper As we've already said, festival toilets are rank. As well as them often not having soap or running water, quite often you’ll find yourself in a bit of a bind as you go for a comfort break only to reach for the loo roll to find there’s none left. Fucking disaster, mate! So when you’re buying a big bag of cans for the campsite, be sure to chuck in a multi-pack of bog roll for you and your pals too.

MUSIC FESTIVALS

Insect repellent and sunscreen It’s important to look after your skin. It’s especially important if you’re going to be outside for an entire weekend, unable to avoid the elements, and local wildlife for that matter. So, don’t forget to pack your sunscreen and, if like us you’re susceptible to an insect bite or two, some repellent, especially if you’re festivalling in Scotland as midges are fucking everywhere – we cannot recommend Napier’s the Herbalist’s Bugbuster Cream highly enough.

Tubigrip bandages Rolled and sprained ankles are among the most common injuries at festivals. Whether it be falling in a pothole, tripping over a tree root or slipping in mud, hurting your ankle can be really fucking painful and can put a downer on your weekend. Pack a tubigrip or two for a little bit of extra support should the inevitable happen.

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The Future’s Bright Following on from Glastonbury’s ban on single-use plastics, we speak to some of Scotland’s leading festivals to find out what they’re doing to be more sustainable going forward Interview: Tallah Brash hen It’s All Over We Still Have to Clear Up may be the title of Snow Patrol’s 2001 debut album, but it’s also the sad truth for many festival organisers the world over. In 2007, following the death of a cow that had ingested a metal tent-peg on Glastonbury’s Worthy Farm, their Love the Farm, Leave No Trace campaign was born. While incredibly sad, the problem is much bigger than the death of a cow. Three million people attend music festivals in the UK each year, generating an obscene 23,500 tonnes of waste – 68% of that ends up in landfill. Each year an estimated 12.7 million tonnes of plastic waste also ends up in our oceans, and with the UK’s commitment to be plastic free by 2042 this year’s Leave No Trace campaign extends further to a ban on single-use plastics. As well as this ban, 200,000 stainless steel pint cups will be in circulation across the festival this summer. Manchester’s Parklife festival have also announced a green pledge for 2019, and further afield France’s Garorock festival have a cardboard tent option called Kartent while Finland’s Flow Festival, as one of the world’s first carbon neutral festivals, recycles and reuses all waste produced during the festival, uses green energy and promotes sustainable meals. We reached out to a few of Scotland’s leading festivals – Eden Festival, Knockengorroch, Kelburn Garden Party, Doune the Rabbit Hole, TRNSMT and Electric Fields – to find out what they’re doing to help combat waste and be more sustainable for a brighter future. It’s important to point out now that all of these festivals are already incredibly eco-conscious, with some building stages from surrounding sustainably sourced materials, reusing signage year on year, and some already working with environmental charities or using renewable energies where possible. “T in the Park was the first and biggest carbon neutral festival in the world and this is a goal we have in mind for TRNSMT,” is a strong opening statement we receive from a DF spokesperson, so it seems Scottish festivals have been leading the charge for some time now. There’s still a lot to be done, however. “We are looking at the viability of a deposit scheme for cups in 2020,” they continue. “Last year, we banned single use plastic straws at TRNSMT and Summer Sessions and we are working towards a ban on single-use plastic altogether.” Meanwhile, Electric Fields have signed up to the Association of Independent Festivals’ Drastic on Plastic campaign, meaning they are committed to banning single-use plastics by 2021, and Doune the Rabbit Hole Festival Director Jamie Murray tells us they are “aiming to be single-use plastics free by 2020.” Knockengorroch are using cups made out of sustainable plant fibres on their bars, introducing stainless steel containers for refilling at water stations and supplying all of their artists’ water in biodegradable packaging. “This year we’ll be suggesting biodegradable utensil options for festival caterers,” Knockengorroch Producer Katch Holmes adds, “with a view to no single-use plastics on site in 2020.” Eileen Wilson Kerr, one half of the General Management team behind Kelburn Garden Party says they’ve been “really inspired by the work Shambala Festival have done, and are planning in the upcoming years to put in place even more policies that make KGP greener without impacting the ticket price for our guests as we feel that encouragement and change of culture can achieve wonders.”

Reusable water bottle It’s important to drink plenty of water, especially when you’re out in warm weather all day drinking lovely lovely booze. Most festivals will have water top up stations dotted across the campsite and festival site so save the environment, and some pennies, and pack a lovely reusable water bottle to keep yourself hydrated.

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A photocopy of your passport More often than not you’re required to show ID when collecting your festival wristband, and in a lot of cases it’s required every day you go into a festival. If a passport is your only form of ID then make a photocopy before you leave the country as most festivals abroad will accept this in lieu of the real thing, and it means you don’t have to worry about losing it in the sea.

Museum of the Moon at Kelburn Garden Party 2018

They have an aim for all food vendors to eventually use compostable plates, cutlery and meal boxes; they’re also working towards being a no straw zone and are considering a reusable cup deposit scheme for the future. Eden Festival are also banning the use of plastic bottles backstage and, like Knockengorroch, are introducing refillable stainless steel water bottles this year.

“ Supermarkets that sell cheap tents need to be educated that they are selling single use plastics en mass, and it isn’t okay” Nick Roberts, Managing Director, Electric Fields

“We have also banned the use of glitter unless it’s eco glitter,” Co-Director of Eden Festival, Meredith Langley-Vine tells us. The miniscule particles that make up this alluring reflective dust are easy to not take too seriously when it comes to packing your overnight festival bag, but most are made from plastic, and microplastics in particular have huge knock-on environmental consequences. With this in mind, each year Knockengorroch features a certain aspect of the natural landscape as a theme and last year it was the river. “As part of this we educated about the terrible impact that plastic glitter has when ingested by river and sea creatures,” Holmes tells us. “We did a glitter amnesty and offered free biodegradable glitter in return for people handing in their plastic glitter.” Another major issue facing music festivals is the harmful CO2 emissions they create. “The average carbon footprint of a UK music festival is 80% audience travel, 13% energy and 7% waste,”

Travel plug How many times have you arrived in another country and gone to charge your phone, laptop or tablet, only to realise you’ve bloody well forgotten to pack your travel plug? Loads, right? Treat this as your friendly reminder not to forget it.

Power bank While most festivals now come with phone charging stations, it’s a total money and timewaster if you’d rather be getting your music on, so pack your power bank and feel smug as you charge on the go.

MUSIC FESTIVALS

Photo: Stevie Bowers

Langley-Vine explains, “so although it’s great to be talking about plastics and what we can do to reduce the impacts of waste left over after the event this shouldn’t be the focus of our attention.” With that in mind, every festival we speak to is making a conscious effort to reduce their carbon footprint, either by encouraging car shares, putting on festival-dedicated buses, promoting the use of public transport, and providing free shuttle buses from train stations and bus stops to and from their festival sites. However you decide to travel to a festival this summer, consider off-setting your carbon footprint with a donation to Energy Revolution – “Last year we raised money for Energy Revolution which invests in renewable energy,” Electric Fields’ Managing Director Nick Roberts tells us, “with over £700 being raised from our audience.” The final piece of the puzzle is to be found on the campsite. “Waste left over by campers is a HUGE issue and it only seems to be getting worse,” Langley-Vine says. When The Skinny went to Electric Fields last year we were astonished at the apocalyptic state of the campsite when we left after a wonderful weekend at the festival. After posting an Instagram story about it we were surprised to discover that Roberts was involved in the clear up: “I think I’d be right in saying that the vast majority of organisers of small festivals end up picking up rubbish at the end of the show,” he tells us. “Cheap tents are the single worst thing for people leaving behind and there’s an incorrect assumption that these can largely be left to go to those in need,” he continues. “It’s right that there are excellent organisations doing this, such as Massive Outpouring of Love, but they can only take tents of a certain quality that would actually be useful for those in refugee camps… Supermarkets that sell cheap tents need to be educated that they are selling single use plastics en masse, and it isn’t okay. Having said that, it is very noticeable in our family campsite that next to no rubbish or equipment is left, which at least means that most kids are getting the right idea early on. “Education is the key,” concludes Roberts. “We don’t want people coming to a festival feeling like they’re going to get a lecture… As a festival we can do a lot of things to reduce our footprint, but the 5000 or so people attending need to be on board with that as well for it to have a proper effect.” theskinny.co.uk/music

Bluetooth speaker This is an essential if you want to bring the party to the campsite and is much better than listening to tinny beats and high-end screeches coming out of your struggling phone speaker. It’s perfect to start the day and get you in the mood for a long day out in a field, or perfect to keep the party going after, but be considerate – if your camping neighbours aren’t into it, don’t be a dick.

Hip flask Arriving back at your tent in the wee small hours and wandering the campsite in search of a party to join has never been so easy with this insta-friend-making vessel. Offer a dram of something delicious to your new BFFs and party until tomorrow. [Tallah Brash]

THE SKINNY

April 2019

THE SKINNY

The Key, The Secret Tom Carpenter, co-founder of Gottwood and Houghton, and Sarra Wild, curator of OH141’s late night stage at Jupiter Rising, tell us what they believe is key to a successful festival

Interview: Nadia Younes

Houghton

Edinburgh’s Jupiter Artland. As the co-founder of the OH141 collective, Wild throws some of Glasgow’s most forward-thinking and exciting parties, as well as providing a platform for women, people of colour and members of the LGBT+ community to be more visible in Scotland’s club scene. Wild returns to Jupiter Rising this year, once again putting together an OH141-curated late night stage at the festival. Already announced for the stage are Cucina Povera, DJ Scotia, Ribeka and Tribe of Colin, with more still to be added. Mercury-nominated jazz outfit The Comet is Coming, Glasgow legends The Vaselines and Welsh musician Cate Le Bon feature on the

Sarra Wild

April 2019

Photo: Trackie McLeod

urating a successful festival is no easy feat, and with countless newcomers cropping up every year attempting to make their own unique stamp on the summer festivals calendar, it’s harder than ever to stand out from the crowd. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Gottwood festival has become a staple for any electronic music fan, and continues to be championed as one of the best and most enticing festivals of its kind. Set in the Carreglwyd Estate in Anglesey, North Wales, Gottwood’s unique surrounds play a key part in its success, and with its capacity capped at 5000 people six years ago, it remains a strictly intimate affair. Friends Tom Carpenter, Tom Elkington and Digby Neill founded Gottwood in 2010, and have stayed true to the festival’s ethos from day one, allowing it to progress at its own pace. This year’s line-up continues to show what the festival is all about – showcasing new talent alongside key figures on the scene. Hunee, Move D and Shanti Celeste sit alongside the likes of Josey Rebelle, Peach and Skee Mask, with festival partners including Exit Records, Rhythm Section and Wigflex. Three years ago, the trio set their sights on a new venture, teaming up with DJ and fabric resident Craig Richards to launch Houghton festival in Norfolk. In just a few years, Houghton has developed a reputation for being one of the best new music festivals in the UK, for much the same reason Gottwood continues its reign over other dance music festivals in the country. “When we started we had no prior experience and we had to learn a lot very fast,” says Carpenter. “We were also lucky that the market wasn’t so saturated as it is now. I guess growing organically and having a good idea of what you want your festival to be is very key. “Gottwood, we never want to change, simply keep tweaking it to make it as good as it can possibly be. Houghton is very similar – although the site has potential to hold a lot more people, and the demand for tickets would make it easier to do so, we would never compromise the quality of it for the sake of making more money.” Sarra Wild, on the other hand, is newer to the world of music festivals, taking her first steps into stage curation at last year’s Jupiter Rising music and arts festival, which takes place at

festival’s live music line-up, while its art strand features Elaine Mitchener, Jim Lambie and Natasha Lall, among others. As always, with OH141’s involvement in the festival, Wild’s mission statement remains the same as it does through all of her work. “An exciting and bold line-up that’s inclusive of all types of identities and sounds, provided it flows creatively, is always a plus,” she says is key to a successful festival. “Accessibility, both physically and financially, is also great. “I have been lucky to work for directors that have given me the creative freedom and trusted my judgement, even if a back and forth and some persuasion on my side is involved,” she continues. “I set out to do what I thought others around me weren’t doing; what I wanted to see and experience in a festival. My identity plays a big part in that and there aren’t many folk like me in this position as far as I know, not in Scotland anyway.” While the two operate on vastly different scales, they share plenty of common views on the dos and don’ts of festival curation, with their work ethics lining up quite similarly. Both Wild and Carpenter are adamant that money should never be a guiding factor in putting on a festival, and believe that allowing it to do so can be detrimental to its success. “It’s so important not to be greedy,” says Carpenter. “I’ve seen so many festivals fail over the years from letting corporate companies buy them and essentially use them to squeeze as much money out of them as possible,” he continues. “Festivals are for escapism for many people, and not to be reminded of the stresses of the normal working nine to five life.” Wild agrees: “Do it because it’s your passion. Making money is great but it shouldn’t be your only or main aim. Take risks and be true to yourself when making decisions.” While the relentless nature of festival season can often make it tough to remain positive and enthusiastic, Wild is of the opinion

MUSIC FESTIVALS

Photo: Hannah Metcalfe

that her passion for her work is what keeps her motivated. “When you love what you do it’s easier I think, but I also think self care is very important,” she says. “Take time for yourself away from all the noise because it gets difficult to prioritise your needs when you have so many other artists and individuals whose needs also need to be met and looked after.”

“ I set out to do what I thought others around me weren’t doing; what I wanted to see and experience in a festival” Sarra Wild, OH141

Carpenter believes that the pay off comes from “remembering how satisfying it is to see so many people take enjoyment on something that you have a big part in creating.” This focus on the festivalgoer’s experience over the monetary gains plays a crucial role in building a loyal following. It’s testament to the long-standing success of festivals like Gottwood and the rapid rise of Houghton and Jupiter Rising that its curators maintain a crowd-focused approach and aren’t afraid to push boundaries, despite the potential financial implications. Gottwood takes place at Carreglwyd Estate, Anglesey, 6-9 Jun; Houghton takes place at Houghton Hall, Norfolk, 811 Aug; Jupiter Rising takes place at Jupiter Artland, Edinburgh, 23-25 Aug

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Let's Dance If you prefer your music instrument-less, then try out one of our top picks of electronic music festivals taking place across Scotland, the UK, Europe and the rest of the world instead

Words: Nadia Younes

Scotland

Riverside

Terminal V – The Rising Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh, 20 Apr Terminal V’s latest instalment, The Rising will see minimal techno pioneer Richie Hawtin make his first Edinburgh appearance in 18 years, with further sets from Helena Hauff, Daniel Avery, Objekt and more. They’ve also teamed up with Sneaky Pete’s once again, who will host The Green House stage, while Paradise Palms will bring a team of regulars to their Palms Tent, and satirical publication Wunderground host The Wunderground Rescue Stage.

elrow Town Festival Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh, 27 July Award-winning party series elrow Town makes its way up to Scotland for the first time this summer. The elrow branch of the festival made its official Scottish debut back in 2017 with its Halloween Haunted House event, which saw sets from the likes of Richy Ahmed, The 2 Bears and Mall Grab, but this is the first time its elrow Town series will make its way north of the border.

FLY Open Air Hopetoun House, Edinburgh, 18 & 19 May Big Miz and Eclair Fifi make their FLY Open Air debuts as FLY Club residents this year, joining the likes of Solomun, Honey Dijon and Peggy Gou on the line-up. Having expanded to two days for the first time last year, the festival is set to get even bigger as Boiler Room make their Scottish festival debut, hosting a stage takeover across both days.

Platform 18 Street Festival West Street, Glasgow, 3 & 4 Aug The team behind Platform 18 take shelter under the West Street bridge once again, with their biggest line-up yet. Detroit techno gets a serious look in this year with Derrick May, Carl Craig and Octave One (live) all set to play alongside Belgium’s finest Amelie Lens, prolific producer and label boss Ben Sims, and Chicago house legend Derrick Carter.

FLY Open Air

Photo: David Wilkinson

Riverside Riverside Museum, Glasgow, 25 & 26 May Riverside is a stand-out on the Scottish festivals calendar, and its 2019 line-up is testament to why, with highlights this year including Todd Terje, Jon Hopkins (live), Shanti Celeste and Midland. On Saturday, Sulta Selects and La Cheetah Club host and curate the two main stages, while Maximum Pressure and Feel My Bicep take the reins on Sunday, with the Dockland Stage a staple across both days.

Queen's Yard Summer Party Hackney Wick, London, 4 & 5 May Party with the cool kids, and a frankly obscene number of DJs, at East London festival Queens Yard Summer Party, expanding to two days this year and taking place across 20 venues at Hackney Wick. Sunday’s events include a slight Scottish injection, with Craigie Knowes and Sub Club among the day’s partners, and sets coming from Harri & Domenic, Sofay, Telford and more.

Wigflex City Festival Nottingham, 5 May Nottingham promoters Wigflex launch the debut edition of their city festival, and they’re setting the bar pretty high. During the day, the festival will include a free wellbeing programme open to children and families, while the evening will be saved for the music, with a mixture of live and DJ sets from acts including James Holden & the Animal Spirits, Machine Woman and Eris Drew.

Lost Village

AVA Festival Belfast, Ireland, 31 May-1 Jun Now in its fifth year, AVA festival and conference continues to grow year upon year, having hosted a programme of showcases in cities all over the world, including Mumbai, Amsterdam, London and Manchester. Its Belfast edition returns at the end of May with a huge line-up spread across two days, featuring Avalon Emerson, Ben UFO, The Black Madonna, Palms Trax and more.

Queens Yard Summer Party

Photo: Sam Milligan

Gottwood Anglesey, Wales, 6-9 Jun Gottwood celebrates its 10th birthday this year, with ten stages of the best there is to offer in electronic music set around a lake in a Welsh country estate across four days – sounds pretty idyllic doesn’t it? And you’ve not even heard who’s playing yet: Hunee, Josey Rebelle, Move D and Skee Mask are among those set to perform at the festival. Sold? Thought so.

Houghton Houghton Hall, Norfolk, 8-11 Aug Produced by the same team behind Gottwood and curated by Craig Richards, it’s no wonder Houghton shares a pretty similar MO to the Welsh festival. Stunning country setting? Check. Jam-packed line-up which is sure to feature just about all your favourite DJs? Check. Bizarre list of prohibited items, including marker pens and Chinese lanterns? Check. Lost Village Lincolnshire, 22-25 Aug If you’re looking for a bit more from your festival experience than just music, Lost Village should be right up top on your hitlist. As well as a musical line-up featuring Omar S, Willow, Young Marco and a B2B2B from the Studio Barnhus crew, the festival also hosts a range of comedy acts, creative workshops and a wide range of food options – from tribal banquets to street food stalls.

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Oasis Marrakech, Morocco, 13-15 Sep A festival in Morocco may initially seem like a hot and sweaty nightmare, but fortunately and conveniently Oasis festival organisers have actually thought this through. With the festival site not opening until late afternoon, you’ll miss that midday North African desert heat and be able to enjoy the sunset and party into the night while enjoying sets from the likes of Ciel, Four Tet, Optimo and Or:la.

MUSIC FESTIVALS

ADE

Club to Club

Photo: Andrea Macchia

Oasis

ADE Amsterdam, Netherlands, 16-20 Oct If you have even the remotest interest in electronic music, Amsterdam Dance Event is not to be missed. The festival programme is split into days and nights; by day, you can brush up on your knowledge of the business and tech side of things, and by night you can take in a series of showcases, with Nick Murphy, fka Chet Faker, announced as the first headliner for Paradiso’s ADE line-up.

Photo: Niels de Vries

Nuit Sonores

Photo: Gaetan Clement

Nuits Sonores Lyon, France, 28 May-2 Jun For the 17th edition of Nuits Sonores, the festival have teamed up with Looking For Architecture and Yves Caizergues Lighting Design, who will work as this year’s scenographers, developing the stage design around the theme of panorama. The festival’s daytime programme includes four days hosted by Bonobo, Peggy Gou, Maceo Plex and Lena Willikens, while the night features performances from James Blake, The Black Madonna, Jayda G and more.

Photo: SOLOVOV

EU & ROW

Club to Club Turin, Italy, dates tbc As well as hosting one-off events around Italy throughout the year, Club to Club’s main event takes place in Turin, with the main bulk of events located in the city’s Lingotto arena. If the festival’s 2018 line-up – which included a headline set by Aphex Twin, as well as DJ sets from Courtesy, Leon Vynehall and Skee Mask – is anything to go by, then you’re sure to be in for a treat this year.

THE SKINNY

April 2019

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Here and Now C

allum Easter is sitting at a table in Robbie’s Bar, a traditional pub halfway down Leith Walk, reflecting on the eventful journey that’s led him from sideman-for-hire in various bands to becoming a fully-fledged solo artist in his own right. It’s a rare break in what has been a typically busy week for the singer-songwriter, who originally hails from Dunbar and now resides in Edinburgh. Kicking back is not something Easter generally has time for. “I’m always running about,” he explains. “I’ve found I need to have three or four jobs on the go. I do all sorts. I’ve probably done about 50 hours this week. I make music in the gaps. But that’s become part of the process of how I record. Sometimes I play a track, I hear the vocal, and I remember recording it at 11pm in the studio after coming in from a shift. You have that feeling – you just have to get it done.”

“ If you asked me seven months ago, I would have had no intention of playing accordion [...] You’re playing keys with two hands and you’ve got to squeeze the fucker” Callum Easter

No one could accuse Easter of being a slacker. When he plays a gig, it’s only him on stage. When he makes a record, he does almost everything himself. Not that he leads a solitary musical existence. Keen gig-goers in Edinburgh may recognise him from his time playing keys in The Stagger Rats. Others will have spotted him on organ duties with Neon Waltz when the Caithness band toured the UK last year. But now he’s ready to step out front and centre with the release of Here Or Nowhere, his debut album. It may only be April but the record will likely feature in any self-respecting best-of-the-year lists. Easter offers a matter-of-fact assessment of his career to date. “It’s been a graft. But thank fuck it’s going in the right direction,” he says with a grin. He’s entitled to take a moment to check how far he’s come. Here Or Nowhere ranks as one of the most anticipated debut albums from any Scottish artist this year. It will be released this month on Lost Map Records, the independent label run by the indefatigable Johnny Lynch, aka Pictish Trail. Lynch was so impressed with the songs Easter sent him that he agreed to release the album without even having seen him perform live. The Skinny joins Easter for a swift pint, or three, in Robbie’s as the bar is spitting distance from the studio where he works. This small corner of Leith already has strong musical connections. Young Fathers taped their debut album Dead in a basement a few doors along. The

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band’s Graham ‘G’ Hastings still uses another rehearsal room next door to Easter’s. The pair are pals and regularly swap equipment and stories from the road, as well as offering feedback on one another’s latest recordings. Needless to say, Easter has toured with Young Fathers as well, playing lap steel and keys alongside the trio on their most recent UK tour. Such connections were built steadily over time. Easter, by his own admission, was a late starter when it came to music. “I didn’t really begin writing tunes until I was 21,” he says. “It’s funny how it’s worked out. This is my debut album and I’m 31 – although I was involved in making a record with The Stagger Rats before that. But it’s quite late, in a way. Some folk will think: ‘What’s this guy been up tae?’” While Here Or Nowhere is his first album proper, Easter has already released some impressive music over the last three years. He cut his teeth as a solo artist with the Get Don’t Want EP in 2016, following it up a year later with Delete Forever. Both mini-albums were released by Soul Punk, the label run by Young Fathers’ former producer Tim Brinkhurst. “Tim and G have been great for chatting [through] ideas with and offering bits of advice,” Easter continues. “After the first EP, the quickest way you can learn is to make another quickly. Recording has been a total journey. I’ve been figuring out what I like and how to do it, basically.” Easter’s music is sparse yet rich, utilising drum machines and organ drones in a way that brings to mind the likes of seminal New York electro pioneers Suicide. The album’s title track is a case in point. A hushed vocal begins accompanied by only a few simple drone notes, before building into an unlikely torch song. Fall In Love, the lead single, is another deceptively simple pop song with a diamond tough edge. ‘This world’s getting ugly / You better fall in love,’ Easter sings. Before we hit the boozer, Easter gives The Skinny a tour of the small basement studio space where he does most of his work. There are keyboards, samplers and various other gizmos piled high. “I’m good at acquiring old gear that people don’t need anymore,” he says. But there’s no sign of the one instrument that now defines his live shows. When on stage, he replicates the keyboards and drones of his recorded material with an unlikely tool – a secondhand accordion. It’s an instrument most associated in Scotland with ceilidh bands and drunken wedding parties. The very opposite of contemporary music, in other words. Yet it’s proved to be a game-changer for Easter’s approach to a live show. “I wasn’t sure what I was doing with my live shows,” he explains. “I was playing with a DJ at one point who was running the beats and I was playing into that. It was a bit over-complicated. Then I bought a drum machine and I’ve been playing accordion and a bit of guitar. It’s a really stripped down approach. “I’m now starting to enjoy playing solo. It makes things a bit simpler. I can jump on the Megabus with my accordion. If you asked me seven months ago, I would have had no intention of playing accordion. I passed a charity shop that was selling one for £50. I got it for £40 after a bit of chat. I started playing it from scratch. It’s quite a loud thing. It’s given me loads of options. You’re playing keys with two hands and you’ve got to squeeze the fucker. It’s made my playing a lot better.” Easter did have doubts about the instrument and how it could be perceived. “I was trying

to fight it for a bit,” he adds. “There’s no accordion on any of my records. Drone wise, and some of the electronic sounds I’m doing, it covers it live with some jiggery-pokery. I’m putting a drum mic on it, it sounds beautiful.” He won’t be swapping any tips with traditional accordion players, however. “I’d be too scared to ask,” he laughs. “My playing is primitive in comparison. I’m not moving about – there’s none of the bounce you would hear at a ceilidh.” But finding unusual instruments and equipment and making them work to his benefit is central to Easter’s ethos. “It’s making things on a budget,” he confirms. “I love watching DJs, for example, to see what they’re doing. So I got some CDJs and then thought: ‘What the fuck am I going to use them for?’ But you can do loads of things.” This approach is already winning fans in high places. Recently, Scottish Ballet chose his song Make a Move to accompany a dance piece that will be filmed by the Glasgow-based director Eve McConnachie. “I’ve always known I wanted to

Music

Interview: Chris McCall

create,” Easter reflects. “I used to paint as a kid. It just wasn’t an acceptable idea to be an artist. I’m not saying that because I grew up in Dunbar, but most folk... if there are no artists in your family, you don’t think you can do it for a living.” Easter was a talented footballer, to the extent he took up a sporting scholarship on offer at Wofford College, a liberal arts university in South Carolina. It was during his downtime off the pitch that he taught himself piano and a spark caught flame. Returning to Scotland, he knew it was music, not football, that he wanted to pursue. “I just want to do art,” he adds. “I know how much I need to cover the bases and I feel pretty optimistic about being able to do it. I’ll always do it. I’ll be an old boy, still doing it, I’d imagine.” Here Or Nowhere is released via Lost Map Records on 5 Apr Callum Easter plays Leith FAB Cricket Club, Edinburgh, 6 Apr; Shuffle Down Festival, Larbert, 27 Apr; The Old Hairdressers, Glasgow, 10 May; Kelburn Garden Party, Kelburn Castle, Fairlie, 6 Jul facebook.com/callumeaster

Photo: John Mackie

Callum Easter joins us for a pint to explain why he works best when kept busy and how he’s ended up making one of the most anticipated debut albums of the year

THE SKINNY

Photo: Anna Knecht Schwarzer

Animal Magic We speak to Faith Eliott about the release of their album Impossible Bodies and launching their own label OK Pal Records

aith Eliott digs a book out of their bag, a battered, worn tome brimming with Post-its and folded notebook paper. Its cover is faded gold lettering and medieval marginalia; it looks as though it’s been plucked from a fantasy movie. It’s The Book of Barely Imagined Beings by Caspar Henderson. “It’s a 21st century bestiary,” Eliott says. “He’s written about real animals, but used the structure of a bestiary. A lot of the poetic language writes itself: animals do weird, cool things.” Medieval bestiaries are illustrated compendiums of animals put together to provide a meaning or a lesson that can be taken from each beast slipped between its oft-allegorical pages. In one, Eliott tells us, a section about bears talks about adults giving birth to balls of fluff which are then licked into their bearcub shapes. “My parents are historians, so that figurative, folklore-y aesthetic is embedded into the way I look at things,” Eliott says. “There’s all these different symbolic, very surreal animal stories. I just love them. I feel like I naturally write that way.” Eliott’s new album, Impossible Bodies, is a bestiary in its own right: each song stars a living being – fictional or otherwise – with lessons of love and history, heartbreak and geology sprinkled throughout. It’s clear that Henderson’s book has its grip on Eliott. A chapter about sea sponges inspired the song Loomis, as did the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef, of which the Loomis Reef was one of the first parts to die. “I used to have an obsession with the apocalypse and anxiety around the world ending,” Eliott explains. “One of the ways I combatted that was to read a lot about the history of the Earth and realise that there have been ice ages and mass extinction events before, in order to objectify the situation and see the bigger picture.” In fact, a lot of Eliott’s songs invoke the concept of externalising and reaffirming a belief or standpoint. Loomis also points to the fact that sea sponges are unknowable beings from which

April 2019

Interview: Kirstyn Smith

we all descended, an ‘asymmetrical lump’ with no beauty standards, leading us to consider the ways in which we think about ourselves as humans these days. Carl Sagan Cosmos Song is a grounding mini history lesson about the magnitude of the universe as seen by someone living with and trying to control anxiety. Lilith, which was released as the first single from the album, references the Jewish belief that Lilith was the first wife of Adam, before Eve came along. In it a snake breaks free of its imprisonment, echoing Eliott’s feeling of being confined in a specific identity. “I think a lot of the running themes are either captivity or trying to get out of the role that something has been given just by being in the bodies that they’re in,” says Eliott. “Feeling trapped in your own skin; the struggle between acceptance and dysphoria. I’ve definitely just chosen a lot of animals and projected myself into them.” Eliott is a triple threat when it comes to songwriting: heartrending lyrics, gently free flowing vocals and instrumentation that takes on each song’s very individual atmosphere. It makes sense that Impossible Bodies is influenced by Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals – a suite that focuses on a different animal for each of its 14 movements. “I was really inspired by that,” Eliott says. “My song about the aquarium (Grouper) is very arpeggiating pianos and swirling sounds.” Similarly, Carl Sagan Cosmos Song leaves the listener feeling like a time traveller spinning through the universe: their heartbreak, mental illness and worries about the world nothing but a blip on the horizon. Eliott talks about the Paleozoic period, during which times nautiloids roamed free, the moon was ten times closer to the Earth and the planet was mostly sea. “You can just picture this giant moon and these huge creatures. There’s a peace in seeing the world in this way,” says Eliott. “I find it really comforting – it’s a way to zoom out and see us

as little swirling, wriggly creatures. It helps you feel blameless.”

“ It’s affirming when I see people that identify like me being onstage or having confidence. By doing my thing I hope that other people like me feel like they have permission to do that too” Faith Eliott

Eliott credits a lot of Impossible Bodies’ production to the musicians they worked with while putting the album together. They spent a year in the States and met some artists while on tour; the majority was recorded in Seattle. Most of the songs were developed there, but Reuben Taylor – whose piano playing Eliott cites as “an inspiration” – was one musician who wired through their work from the UK. “A lot of the songs were developed with people in the UK,” says Eliott. “A lot of the people on the record I met as part of Colin Nelson’s [who recorded the album with

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Eliott] musical community. Some was pre-conceived and some was a collaboration with him.” Collaboration is something that comes naturally to Eliott. Their latest venture – Impossible Bodies aside – is OK Pal Records, a label set up with fellow Scottish musician, and Eliott’s best pal, Hailey Beavis. Upon returning from the States, Eliott proposed the idea, not quite expecting Beavis to be instantly on board. “She said ‘Yes’ and I said, ‘We’re opening a joint bank account immediately,’ I’ve got to lock this down before she changes her mind.” Their communication, Eliott says, is seamless, the two have been making art and music for years and they’re both on exactly the same wavelength. “A lot of very well-intentioned men are out there doing stuff, but there’s always a palpable difference when you’re working with other people who’ve been socialised female,” says Eliott. “It does feel like a bit of a relief. We want to support a lot of women, queer people and marginalised people. It’s not hard to do that.” The pair are building the label from the ground up, so releasing first Eliott’s record, then Beavis’ is a way of working out any kinks without having to experiment with their process on any other artists. In the meantime, they plan to continue running regular events, release zines and – eventually – support and release music from other acts. For now, Eliott is happy simply to be representing people who may identify with them. “It’s affirming when I see people that look like me or identify like me playing music and being onstage or having confidence,” says Eliott. “By doing my thing I hope that other people like me feel like they have permission to do that too.” Impossible Bodies is released on 19 Apr via OK Pal Records Faith Eliott plays St Vincent’s Chapel, Edinburgh, 16 Apr; The Hug & Pint, Glasgow, 5 May; Skylight, Edinburgh, 10 May; Doune the Rabbit Hole, Port of Menteith, 19-21 Jul facebook.com/FaithEliottArt

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A Dream State We chat to Idlewild frontman Roddy Woomble about the Edinburgh band’s upcoming eighth album, Interview Music, and talk artistic travels and moving forwards

Photo: Donald Milne

Interview: Paul Sinclair

t’s a warm Edinburgh afternoon as we head down Leith Walk, en route to meet frontman of the city’s own Idlewild, Roddy Woomble. As we arrive at the band’s studio, we’re greeted by friendly handshakes from the rest of the band, taking a break from rehearsals, huddled around a table signing hundreds of CD and vinyl copies of their upcoming album Interview Music. After a few introductions Woomble appears in a doorway; just as friendly and outgoing as his bandmates, he offers us a coffee and we head into the group’s rehearsal room to talk about the new album, upcoming tour and the life of Idlewild.

“ We’re not on any kind of 'new bands to watch' radar; we’re 20-odd years into a musical career. People already are going to come to us, or they’re not going to come at all” Roddy Woomble

It’s been a hell of a ride for the band, a career spanning more than 20 years, travelling the world and cementing a legacy as one of Scotland’s great artists. Now the band are

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preparing for their next chapter, their next adventure on the road. Back in their hometown, just a stone’s throw from the recently demolished Meadowbank Stadium, Woomble reminisces about the night Idlewild performed alongside fellow Scots Teenage Fanclub in support of grunge forefathers Pixies. “I grew up with the Pixies and Teenage Fanclub,” Woomble recalls, “and I’d known Norman [Blake, Teenage Fanclub], he sang on an Idlewild B-side. We did a Teenage Fanclub cover and I knew them more as people, and they knew the Pixies well because they’d toured in the 90s, so it was a really nice vibe backstage because everyone was hanging about. I got to watch them both from the side of the stage and they’re two of my favourite bands – it was great!” Playing a hometown stadium show with two of their adolescent heroes is just a note on a long list of achievements for Idlewild. From their debut release, 1998’s mini-album Captain, to their breakthrough single You Held the World in Your Arms, from 2002’s The Remote Part, the group have gained global recognition. Now in a second chapter of sorts, Idlewild are back with their second release since returning from hiatus. The group, armed with a fresh creative spring in their step and a tweak in their line-up, seemingly began working on Interview Music prior to 2015’s Everything Ever Written. “We started working on new songs around that time, even before the record was out, already knowing that we’re really happy with this record we’d made,” Woomble tells us. “We feel sort of, I don’t know, revitalised to some creativity that’s really happening. So yeah, we started work on some songs and some of them are on this record. Obviously we went through that period and then we sort of stopped and life sort of took over, and then we came back to the record at the start of last year. So yeah, it was started pretty much as the other one was coming out.” Heading to Los Angeles for ten days as part

of the recording process, Woomble believes it’s important to travel with an album, an artistic experiment of sorts, to feel the effects of each place and what that city can do to unlock hidden potential in each song. Idlewild has seen Woomble living in New York and Los Angeles, but it’s here in Scotland he feels most at home. “It’s a good place to look out onto the world, and I wouldn’t imagine living anywhere else now, but I think it’s fascinating for an artistic thing, like Idlewild songs, to take them into a different environment, whether it’s Los Angeles or New York or Iceland, and see what that brings to this music, and then to bring them back to where we understand it a wee bit better and finish it off – that was the thinking with Interview Music.” Interview Music is certainly a progression for the group from The Remote Part days of old, but Idlewild are very aware of their mainstream perception, and it doesn’t seem to alter their creative path. “There are people that just know us for You Held the World in Your Arms,” Woomble states, reflecting on their past records and more current pursuits. “I think we always have a good mix of things that people associate us with, and laterally, in the later records there are more musical moments and mellow moments, and more interesting moments in terms of things going left-field. “I don’t think people think our band do that,” Woomble continues. “But we are big fans of lots of different styles of music and we’ve tried over the years to incorporate things, and it’s never felt right, but this time we just thought, you know, people are either going to like it or they’re not going to like it. You know what I mean? We’re not flavour of the month. We’re not on any kind of 'new bands to watch' radar; we’re 20-odd years into a musical career. People already are going to come to us, or they’re not going to come at all. So we should make this record as diverse as we want.” Prior to the album’s release, its lead single, and opening track, Dream Variations came out in February, a sneak preview of what was to come

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from Interview Music, an album that at times ebbs and flows in a dreamlike manner, something Woomble takes great interest in. “I’m interested in the idea that we spend a third of our time asleep as human beings, and you carry your dreams through the day,” Woomble says. “So you have this vivid dream, and you wake up from it, and you forget about it, but it comes back to you while you’re walking. I notice that now in cities, a lot of people, they don’t engage with their environment, they sit with headphones on on public transport, or while they’re walking, and they’re in a dream state that way. So we are kind of all wandering around in a bit of a dream state quite often, I think. I’m pretty fascinated by that, and the imagination that’s going on within that dream state.” The release of Interview Music will see the band tour the UK througout April and May, including a stop in Glasgow’s iconic Barrowland Ballroom. What lies ahead beyond that is still to be determined by the group. But, as Woomble reflects on the band and their work, it seems that Idlewild is an artistic journey – from a group of teenage pals to major label artists, the band’s road has had many twists and turns, with no end in sight. “You know, we’ve been in a band since we were 18 together, and we’re all 40, 41, 42. Obviously in that time success has come, but there’s been a fairly consistent group of people that will come and see us and buy the records and are interested in our work. So I think, assuming that that would continue... It’s quite fascinating for me because what other sort of body of work, or work of art can go on for 40 years? It’s like it’s an ongoing painting you’re always adding colour to. You never know when it’s finished.” Interview Music is released on 5 Apr via Empty Words Idlewild play Barrowlands, Glasgow, 4 May; Music Hall, Aberdeen, 5 May; Clarks on Lindsay Street, Dundee, 27 May; The Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 28 May idlewild.co.uk

THE SKINNY

April 2019

THE SKINNY

Future Blues After years of multi-disciplinary dabbling, Liverpool’s genre-defying electronic experimentalists Stealing Sheep return to take on the technology age

Interview: Joe Goggins

April 2019

at different times and in different headspaces. It’s not supposed to be a critique.” The band’s other major project last year was Suffragette Tribute, a commission centred around the centenary of the women’s suffrage movement; initially lined up for Liverpool’s Sound City festival and then toured around the country throughout the summer, it brought together dancers, percussionists (15 of them) and all-new music from the three-piece to create a carnival atmosphere. Like Wow Machine, the timing of the project meant that there was inevitably some overlap with Big Wows, albeit in more abstract ways. “We never really sit still, creatively speaking,” says Lansley. “The music keeps progressing and changing all the time. There’s one song on the record, Breathe, that started out as a really slow ballad. Six months later, it was totally different, with all these dancey drums on it. The whole dimension of the song changed. That happens a lot – we think we’ve got some ideas boxed off, and then they turn into something else entirely. That’s just a result of remaining open to new ideas and new commissions like the ones we did last year.” The album’s endearingly colloquial title goes some way to encapsulating the trio’s detached, level-headed approach to their subject matter; as adept as they are at sonically evoking the chaos and confusion of the world’s emotional relationship to the internet, they lyrically skewer it in a way that acknowledges the unemotional nature of the machines that facilitate it.

Photo: Simon Webb

hree records and nearly a decade into their career, Stealing Sheep remain defined by dichotomy. Their debut album, 2012’s Into the Diamond Sun, placed the Liverpool trio’s uncanny, folk-inflected vocal harmonies front and centre, but backed them with a veritable smorgasbord of instrumental diversions – they covered everything from lo-fi psych to glittering electronica. When they followed it up in 2015 with Not Real, they pursued the latter route much more aggressively, all shiny synths and stuttering, programmed drums – which, set against the eclectic intertwining of their voices, made for another, very singular push-pull dynamic. Plus, their penchant for visual creativity and pushing their musical output beyond the boundaries of the typical band has meant that they effectively have another artistic life entirely; they’ve done everything from perform sets of David Lynch covers to score obscure 70s science fiction films. Since Not Real, they’ve created a jubilant, multi-disciplinary tribute to the suffragettes and paid homage to their hero, electronic trailblazer Delia Derbyshire – both in the past 18 months. It’s Derbyshire’s influence that hangs heavy over this month’s long-in-the-works third LP, Big Wows, which once again finds Stealing Sheep striking a delicate balance – reporting on the instability of the modern technological era without passing judgment on it, and delving ever further into electronic music while still striving to produce something tangibly human, defined by empathy. “We’ve been juggling a lot of different things over the past few years, so it’s taken a little bit of time to put together,” says bassist Emily Lansley of the group’s protracted studio lay-off. “We ended up working quite independently, which was new for us, coming up with our own ideas and then bringing them together at the end. It felt like something we needed to do, just to rediscover our own creative processes a little bit after so long doing things so collaboratively between the three of us. By the time we got together to record it, it all sort of melds together and becomes Stealing Sheep, but it seemed like a good idea to chip away on the initial stages of these songs by ourselves.” When it came to the early work on Big Wows, Lansley confirms that the creative parameters were undefined. “We just wanted to do as much exploration as we could with this record,” she relates. “When it comes to working with electronic sounds, Becky [Hawley, keys] especially is really into it – that thing of making new sounds by using Logic plugins or manipulating the sounds of keyboards and things like that. Lucy [Mercer, drums] and I had always worked in more of a live way before this; the ideas tended to come from us jamming together, so for the two of us, it was a little bit more challenging. It was freeing, too, though; we had a lot of room to vary in how we approached the songs. The Wow Machine project fed quite nicely into this one.” Stealing Sheep themselves described Wow Machine as a “theatrical-musical-dance-art spectacular”; in layman’s terms, that meant sci-fi visuals, sparkly outfits, dancers and, musically speaking, all-out electro-psych, as the band channeled the spirit of electronic innovator Delia Derbyshire, who might be best known for co-writing the theme to Doctor Who. “We did some work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop a few years ago; we collaborated on a soundtrack to the film La Planète Sauvage for the Jersey Film Festival,” Lansley explains. “That was when we

first became aware of her work – we got to work with her foley tapes when we did that project, which was all of the sound effects she’d created for film and television. She was a pioneer, really, and way ahead of her time. Wow Machine was our tribute to her.” With Wow Machine coming to fruition during the making of Big Wows, Derbyshire’s influence inevitably bled into the new work, too – something that Lansley acknowledges also came to suit the record’s themes. “She was always looking for the humanity in the machines and computers that she used,” she explains. “She always wanted to find something organic in these sounds that were obviously artificial in nature, and that’s something we’ve been searching for since our last album – some kind of balance between synthetic and real. I think over the course of our career, we’ve never been interested in opting for normal sounds in our writing; even with the earlier stuff, where we were using instruments that were more traditional, we were forever trying to change them – putting effects on crappy keyboards, or just warping our vocals, that kind of thing. We’ve made an album that looks at the chaos of the technology age, and that desire to make things sound harder or a little bit discordant fits with that.” In the three years since Not Real, the world around Stealing Sheep has become more turbulent socially and politically; rather than

strive to look for answers as to why, they instead spend Big Wows holding up a mirror to the role of technology in fostering the present climate of uncertainty. “Culturally, it seems as if we’re surrounded by the internet more and more all the time,” says Lansley. “We were trying to speak through the language of how everything – and everyone – is so easily accessible, especially with the rise of social media. We were thinking about how you’d describe this moment of the internet age with sound, and create a landscape, and that’s something that’s spilled over into the videos we’ve made so far, because the visual side of our creativity has always felt crucial to the music. Hopefully, that’s obvious to an outsider from the videos for Jokin' Me and Show Love.” The record is supposed to be seen as more of a treatise on the state of things than a condemnation, however. “It’s not necessarily a criticism,” Lansley explains. “I think we were mainly just observing and recording what we were seeing. I know I wouldn’t want things to be any different, in terms of my own relationship with the internet. None of us would. There’s always going to be times where you feel overwhelmed by it, when there’s so many people’s feelings and thoughts out there and accessible, and then there’ll be times when it feels great and like a really effective tool. I think the record is more a representation of how we’re affected by the internet and the social media age

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“ There’s always going to be times where you feel overwhelmed... when there’s so many people’s feelings and thoughts out there and accessible” Emily Lansley

“Big Wows means ‘don’t stress it’, basically,” says keyboardist Becky Hawley as she jumps on the call. “So when the paraphernalia of the internet is all around you, and it feels as if it’s getting to you and becoming quite hectic, the best approach is to remain chilled, and keep it light-hearted. It feels as if it’s becoming more difficult to remain human when there’s so many new machines and so much technology that’s coming at us so fast. A lot of the album is summed up in what you see in the video for Show Love, which is about cutting through all of the advertising and the things that people are trying to put on you, in order to get to the real stuff, like love and finding the truth in a post-truth world.” Big Wows is released on 19 Apr via Heavenly Recordings Stealing Sheep play Broadcast, Glasgow, 25 Apr stealingsheep.net

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Alternate Realities We catch up with Ela Orleans about finding inspiration in escaping reality and discuss her upcoming collection of work, Movies for Ears

Interview: Kirstyn Smith

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burrowed deep into her psyche, and from then on Orleans subscribed to every cinema class she could at school, and always had a camera to hand. “I was always drawn to different, alternative realities. I’m still obsessed with watching films, I just wish there was more time for it!” The difference between scoring for someone else and writing for yourself, however, is a subtle one. Asides from the obvious time sensitivity, there’s also a duty of care to ensure everyone’s vision lines up. “I try to be very sensitive to what the artist or director wants to achieve, feelings-wise,” says Orleans. “So I usually spend quite a lot of time talking about emotions. I try to do my best. I’ve been quite lucky to work with people who chose me because they like my style, not because they chose me but want something else. So far I’ve had a very good relationship with artists.”

“ I’ve been living with depression since I was 17 [...] and music has helped me profoundly with that. I feel that this is, other than medication, probably the most effective way of dealing with it” Ela Orleans

Photo: Niall M. Walker

eauty can be found in the most incongruous places. For Ela Orleans, it was in a poor-quality record player. Her memories of music during her childhood in Poland revolve around malfunctioning equipment causing records to skip and create a new interpretation of the song: something that became a foundation for much of her musical output. “I thought that was how the records were supposed to sound,” she says. “They just get stuck and there’s one little motif repeating itself over and over and over again.” Everything happens in circles, she says, and reading, walking and thinking are all rhythmic processes. These processes get caught up in her head and emerge, blossoming, into songs. “My routine and the tiny things I do during the day contribute to the whole sample idea,” Orleans says. “It comes naturally: I hear something and it gets stuck in my head, so I return to it and try to sing along.” Her songs begin with a concept, no matter how rough, to which she either becomes attached or distant, before finding one particular aspect of it to focus on. “I would say the story of the song sometimes begins with the written word, because, weirdly, that’s somehow a visual aspect as well: when I see things I try to find words for them. After that, I search my mind for poetry and memories.” On her album, Movies for Ears: An Introduction to Ela Orleans, the use of samples is recurrent, and slots into the album’s overall theme. The record came about after fans wanted something to buy at gigs, but Orleans didn’t have any up-to-date albums that weren’t already sold out. Since her shows mainly consist of the poppier aspects of her work – they’re her favourite to play live – the plan was to create a cohesive album made up of tracks from Orleans’ vast back catalogue, from 2001-2012. “Everything is so compartmentalised, and pop is the most available to everyone, and the easiest to promote as well,” says Orleans. “But it also shows the way I developed as a musician from around 2000 when I started to experiment with 4-track and Casio, then, as my craft developed, my songs become more and more fun, intricate and – hopefully – interesting.” Two of the album’s highlights – Walkingman and In Spring – demonstrate, in different ways, how Orleans’ mastery of looping and layering can elevate songs in order to evoke very specific emotions. The former is naturally repetitive, but its happy-go-lucky melody is juxtaposed against tired, pissed-off lyrics: ‘There is no way / There is no time’. The weight of depression hangs in the air. Alternatively, on In Spring Orleans acknowledges her happiness (‘For two weeks together’), and there’s the notion that the black cloud is finally lifting. Orleans’ moods and mental state relate heavily to the kind of work she creates. “I’ve been living with depression since I was 17,” she says. “But I’ve always addressed it, and music has helped me profoundly with that. I feel that this is, other than medication, probably the most effective way of dealing with it.” Making music a way of life, it turns out, helped Orleans feel protected, as did fine art and film. “I’ve always run away to art, ever since I was a child, probably as a subconscious way of healing myself. I’ve had a happy life as well, and the thing is, I can only make music when I am functional. I don’t make music when I am depressed; I do it during the times I am recovering from things and feeling some light.”

As well as music, movies are high on the list of things Orleans turns to as a creative outlet. After being chosen by the BMI to take part in their film scoring mentorship programme, she worked under composers David Shire (All the President’s Men, Return to Oz, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three) and Lukas Ligeti (who’s been commissioned by the London Sinfonietta, Kronos Quartet and the London Composers’ Ensemble) to hone her film scoring craft. Since then, Orleans has been commissioned to weave her soundscape magic on a number of projects: Juliacks’ Architecture of an Atom; feature-length documentary MARCH, for the Glasgow Women’s Library, and 1929’s Lucky Star for the Glasgow Film Festival among many others. It’s clear the art of film is close to her heart.

The movies that inspire Orleans’ work are centred on the ethereal, the other and the sense of looking for a place to belong, but not always finding it. Light at Dawn, for example, is a dreamy Lynchian romance that could at any moment turn into a nightmare, reminiscent of barrooms and billiards. Overall, filmic aspects dip in and out of Movies for Ears: background chatter, train horns and a crackling record player turn up, unexpectedly, to remind the listener that there’s more than one medium at play here. “Movies are the best way of escaping reality,” she says. “When I was a kid, my dad discovered this and he would take me to the cinema and drop me off. I spent hours in the cinema. I watched loads of Polish and Eastern European stuff, not many Western films.” This escapism

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This is unlikely to end any time soon. Aside from Movies for Ears, Orleans’ next projects include scoring a production in Poland based on the comparisons between hate speech and Polish public radio, something she describes as “quite uncanny” and “very disturbing”. After that, there’s some work scoring a film based on the NASA archive called Night-Thoughts. Other than that, Orleans is just looking forward to returning to perform in Glasgow. “I hope the next show will be something new and fresh and a little different – even though I will be playing old songs.” Whether old or new, it’s a given that Orleans will bring something unique, innovative and a little bit remarkable to any gig or project she embarks on. Whether it’s Kafka-esque melodrama or 60s pop with a dark edge, we should all be giving thanks to that malfunctioning Polish record player for the beauty it unwittingly brought into the world. Movies for Ears: An Introduction to Ela Orleans is released via Night School Records on 29 Mar Ela Orleans plays CCA, Glasgow, 11 Apr; Kings Place, London, 8 May elaorleans.com

THE SKINNY

Mass Seduction Katie Alice Greer, Daniele Daniele and GL Jaguar of Washington, DC-based Priests discuss having to re-establish themselves as a band and working with John Congleton on new album The Seduction of Kansas

Interview: Nadia Younes

Photo: Drew Hagelin

distractions for two weeks, just making music and focusing on our record, and also just having fun.” Daniele adds: “I think one of the challenges when you’re a new band – or new at performing at all – is to take yourself seriously… And so then the challenge, once you’ve got a little bit more established as an artist, is to not take it too seriously… he created an environment where nothing was sacred, nothing was too serious; you just had fun and kept an open mind and listened and played.” The Seduction of Kansas feels like a natural progression from Priests’ debut, but while the band take steps towards a poppier sound, they don’t completely abandon their post-punk roots. Greer’s signature growl is accompanied by GL Jaguar’s thrashing guitar and Daniele’s urgent drums to blistering effect on tracks like Jesus’ Son and Control Freak. These darker, more visceral elements on the album seem to have risen from the band’s interest in cinema, particularly noting the recent revival of horror in TV and film as a means of exploring modern societal issues.

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e’re just a sexy party band,” exclaims Priests drummer Daniele Daniele halfway through our chat, while discussing a recent idea the band had to develop a concept album around Prince’s Sign o’ the Times concert documentary. There are many ways Priests have been described in the past, but a sexy party band is probably not one of them. When the Washington, DC-based band released their debut album Nothing Feels Natural back in early 2017, it arrived a week after Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. The album, then, was widely acknowledged as Priests’ take on the current political climate, and with lyrics like ‘I thought I was a cowboy because I smoked Reds’ and track titles like Pink White House, it seemed like an easy comparison to make. But the ‘political punks’ label the band quickly became associated with was not one they necessarily agreed with themselves. “We’ve never been a genre exercise band at all, we just make whatever music seems fun and cool and interesting to us,” says frontwoman Katie Alice Greer. “People really deeply misunderstand us, they always want to box us into political this and that.” Priests’ music has always celebrated and critiqued American culture though, in equal measure, and their latest record The Seduction of Kansas is no exception. Taking its title from Thomas Frank’s 2004 book What’s the Matter With Kansas? – exploring the state’s ideological shift from its historically socialist leanings to its current conservatism – on the new record the band tackle the concept of American mythology, with references to iconic and distinctly American figures, both past and present, filtered throughout.

April 2019

On the album’s eponymous lead single, Greer shouts out fictional American characters Superman and Dorothy, as well as famous American food chains White Castle, Pizza Hut and Applebee’s. But on its follow-up single, Good Time Charlie, Greer explores a more controversial character, Charlie Wilson. However, rather than being influenced by the man himself, the track was inspired by Tom Hanks’ portrayal of Wilson in the 2007 film Charlie Wilson’s War. This all plays into a key thematic element on the album: the retelling of history, how stories from the past are presented to us, and how they can often be misconstrued or misrepresented. “I approached this record trying to write lyrics about what intuitively and emotionally felt interesting to me,” says Greer. “We didn’t set out to make a record about exploring American mythology and the sort of made up idea that is the USA but that’s kind of what emerged after the fact.” Rather than going down the traditional route of announcing the album through a press release, the band once again teamed up with music journalist Jenn Pelly – having previously collaborated with her on their debut album’s accompanying zine – who introduced it on their website in the style of a long-form feature. “Jenn has had a relationship with the band really since our earliest days,” says Daniele. “It feels like she’s one of the people who really understands all of the nuances of our band and our history, and she’s become a friend at this point… and to her credit she’s kind of a genius.” In it, the band discuss the difficult process of making the album; a result of them suffering some pretty monumental interpersonal changes,

following the departure of original bassist Taylor Mulitz. Although parting on amicable terms – with Mulitz continuing to work with the band on the label they started together, and which Priests continue to release all their music on, Sister Polygon Records – his exit to focus on his other band Flusher left the remaining members unsure how to work together cohesively. “We all kind of had to relearn how to keep the band functioning with only the three of us, and we were fighting a lot,” says Greer. “So I found one thing that I was gravitating towards, I think, was I felt very unlikeable to my bandmates, and I found myself writing these characters who I found to be pretty unlikeable or outlandish because that’s what emotionally made sense to me at the time.” This volatility the band were experiencing led them to new things this time around. Daniele wrote and sang on two of the album’s tracks, I’m Clean and 68 Screen; Janel Leppin, who played cello, mellotron and lap steel on Nothing Feels Natural, returned but this time as the band’s primary bassist and fourth songwriting collaborator; and they were led to producer of the moment John Congleton by their publishing company Ribbon Music’s co-founder Morgan Lebus – this being their first time ever working with an outside producer. “We were really sort of re-exploring what our methodology was for writing songs in this band,” Greer continues. “And [Congleton] knew that we weren’t really getting along, he knew that we were dealing with all kinds of difficulties, and so he created this scenario where we went down to Dallas and recorded in his studio, had no

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“ What is happening in our reality right now is unprecedented for most people who are alive in general” Katie Alice Greer

“Sci-fi and horror, the genre, I think is often looked down upon... but I feel like there’s really excellent commentary in it,” says Jaguar. “Katie and I were really into this great film that came out earlier last year called Assassination Nation, which was really, really overlooked but it’s a really good analysis of the current state of the United States, in a very palatable, easy to digest way.” Greer adds: “I think maybe on some intuitive level we gravitate towards this like the pageantry of visceral intense feelings and interactions because we’re hoping to understand it better without always having to look directly at it. “What is happening in our reality right now is unprecedented for most people who are alive in general. We’ve never really quite seen the world turn in ways that it’s been turning as of late,” she continues. “But I think horror films, surreal films like Assassination Nation, just these really over the top, intense things, are particularly resonating with people right now because of that… but I think maybe that speaks to a little bit why we ended up writing these pretty dark, fantastical songs.” Whether dealing in the past or the present, Priests continue to provide a unique gaze and a depth of insight on topical issues that is distinctly theirs, and show no signs of faltering. The Seduction of Kansas is released on 5 Apr via Sister Polygon Records Priests play The Hug & Pint, Glasgow, 14 May 666priests666.com

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The Girl with All the GIFs Comedian and early YouTube celebrity Bo Burnham makes his writing and directing debut with Eighth Grade, a tender, funny teen movie; we speak to him about presenting kids realistically and what most films about the web miss

Interview: Josh Slater-Williams Illustration: Jacky Sheridan

f all filmmakers to tackle the subject of the relationship of young people to the internet as it is now, Bo Burnham would be among the most qualified. After all, these platforms are responsible for where he is now. The 28-year-old American comedian, musician and actor began his performance career in 2006 with YouTube videos of self-penned comedy songs. The full trajectory of his path since is too convoluted to divulge here, but the important thing is that he has written and directed his first feature: a wonderful film called Eighth Grade that’s had a healthy box office run stateside and has gone on to receive numerous major awards wins and nominations, including a Golden Globe nod for star Elsie Fisher, a thrilling new talent, and a Directors Guild of America Award win in the First-Time Feature category for Burnham just days after our phone conversation. Eighth Grade follows the life and struggles of middle-schooler Kayla (Fisher) during her final week of classes before graduating to high school. Despite suffering social anxiety, she produces vlogs giving life advice for an audience of almost zero – when there are views, it’s likely they came from her possibly-too-supportive single father (Josh Hamilton). During these final days of eighth grade, she navigates a crush, a rare party invite and the chance to hang out with a high-schooler she aspires to be like. It may sound small-scale, but the film is a personal epic that really captures the heightened confusion of this particularly awkward age range.

“ The internet is this strange, heightened, higherstakes and lower-stakes social meeting place where you can try out your own personality in a lowerstakes situation” Bo Burnham

Burnham’s said on record that his own struggle with anxiety inspired the project’s inception, but he collaborated with Fisher constantly to make sure that the fictional diary of a teenage girl they were creating felt true to both a 13-year-old girl and, crucially, a 13-year-old girl right now. “I had never thought of a boy ever,” he says of writing the film. “Part of that was just because I didn’t want to do my own experience. I was not interested at all in transferring that to the decidedly new eighth grade experience which wasn’t mine. It being a girl fully made it so I could not project my own experience on to it, which helped a lot. I wanted to come into this experience fresh and without authority, which I didn’t want to have, because I think a lot of movies about kids feel like they come from an authoritative place.

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And I just wanted the focus to be the kids.”

This search for authenticity extends to the young characters’ dialogue, which is naturalistic and free from the kind of smart alec zingers screenwriters tend to write for their teen characters. The high school students Kayla encounters are allowed to be inarticulate, even when they may project a lot more confidence. “The problems that you have as a kid you can’t articulate yourself, so to try to fix that part of being a kid for the purpose of putting it on screen, where kids are written to be super articulate in explaining their awkward teen problems, to me it robs the kid of the interior dynamics that makes them interesting to watch.” Burnham describes the camerawork in Eighth Grade as “very subjective” and focused on how to “evoke what Kayla is feeling right now”, but the film’s dynamic aesthetic doesn’t solely concern its visual representation of its protagonist’s interactions with her devices and other people. British composer Anna Meredith, whose debut studio album Varmints won the 2016 Scottish Album of the Year Award, scored the film and provides what Burnham describes as “the subconscious of the film”. “I wanted an electronic score but I wanted something a little more human and not so aggro,” explains Burnham. “Electronic scores can be a

little cold. I wanted the score to not make [Kayla’s] experiences small but make them bigger and more visceral. Anna’s music was exactly what I was hoping for and more. I wanted someone to be bold and take risks, and she’s incapable of not being bold.” The experience of the internet shown in Eighth Grade is one we rarely get to see in cinema: that of quiet, nervous people just trying to express themselves through a means that’s easier than their daily offline lives. Burnham says: “For a lot of people, the internet is this strange, heightened, higher-stakes and lower-stakes social meeting place where you can try out your own personality in a lower-stakes situation. When I was 13, what I had was AIM, this instant messenger where you would have conversations you could never have to people face to face. “[The internet] is a strange arena for anyone. There was this unmentioned experience of the internet which wasn’t the narcissistic losers that you see satirised all the time in media, or a super depressing story of a kid who’s severely cyberbullied. It came to be between those two types of stories and we don’t really get to see the middle ground that most of us live in, which is, yeah, we’re on the internet and we live our lives that way. But it’s not some giant crisis, it just depends – living with it is what I was trying to visualise.” Less

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judgemental commentary, more honest portrayal. We mean it as a compliment when we tell Burnham that watching Eighth Grade is like experiencing a 93-minute sustained panic attack. For people who can relate all too well to certain elements of it, the film can, in parts, play like a horror movie about ‘being online’. We wonder then what Burnham makes of the recent trend of genre movies – mostly horrors or thrillers – that are set in or around the online world, largely or sometimes entirely told through screen-based interfaces. Pleasingly, he seems to have seen most of them. “I think it’s great,” he says. “Unfriended I love, Searching… I really liked Cam, as well. It’s really cool and I think it’s an obvious thing that makes sense. The internet’s pretty horrifying, so it makes sense to set horror movies there. It’s also very inventive in that we watch all these movies on screens. With movies like Searching and Unfriended, people actually watch those movies on their laptop; that’s what’s fun about those things. And even with my movie too, I want people to see this in the theatre but there is a sort of magic to watching a movie about a girl on her laptop while alone on a laptop. I think it’s great that people making movies like that are engaging with devices that we have as devices. It’s really smart.” Eight Grade is released 26 Apr via Sony Pictures International

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April 2019

THE SKINNY

Wild West Coast The Glasgow-set Wild Rose stars Jessie Buckley as a country singer with dreams of making it big in Nashville; her mother just wants her to settle down. Buckley discusses her love of this rambunctious character and mastering the Glasgow accent

n the corner of the cosy lounge of a hip Glasgow hotel, Jessie Buckley is sitting crossed-legged in a fetching denim jumpsuit. The Killarney-born actor and singer looks pretty contented, but inside she’s bricking it. Tonight she’ll present new comedy-drama Wild Rose to the people of the city in which it is set. “It’s like giving birth to a ginger baby and hoping everybody likes it,” she laughs, with her larking around quickly turning to sincerity. “I just hope I’ve done the city proud, you know? Because Glasgow, I fell in love with it, and there’s just such a heart of Glasgow in this film, which I hope I’ve captured. Anyway, as you can see, I’m very nervous.” She shouldn’t have been, as later that night at its Glasgow Film Festival screening, Wild Rose goes down a storm, and it’s easy to see why. Buckley stars as Rose-Lynn, a rambunctious ex-con with dreams of being a country singer in Nashville, but there are plenty of obstacles in her way. She lives in Priesthill for one. For another, she has two young kids, whom her mother has been looking after while she was in prison. And there’s the small matter that the conditions of her release are that she wears an ankle monitor and is under curfew, so she can’t go back to work as the house singer at the Grand Ole Opry, Glasgow’s heart of country music. She’s abrasive and can act selfishly, especially where her kids are concerned, but she’s also funny and gallus and genuinely talented. It’s hard not to root for her. Buckley quickly fell for the character. “I loved her naughtiness,” she tells us. “Her humanity. She’s just real and raw and tenacious, and one of the most courageous characters. I found her courage incredible, you know? I loved her irreverence and her heart; in spite of the massive tornado that she is, she’s emotional, she’s sensitive. Even at the times when you think she’s feckless and not caring about other people, it costs her; none of those choices are done without costing her.” It would be tempting to assume Buckley some herself in Rose-Lynn. After all, she first came to public attention trying to break into the singing racket too, taking part in BBC talent show

April 2019

I’d Do Anything, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s search for a greenhorn singer to play Nancy in West End musical Oliver; Buckley, who was aged just 17, finished as runner-up. “I never really read a script and go, ‘Oh yeah, that’s me,’ because I guess that’s the point, I’m trying to be someone else. So when I read a script, I’m usually looking for things that aren’t me.”

“ I just hope I’ve done Glasgow proud, you know?” Jessie Buckley

One of the key differences between the two women is that Buckley didn’t have the same barriers in the way of her ambitions as Rose-Lynn has. “You know, I don’t have two kids. And I’ve been lucky in ways that I’ve been in a family that’s encouraged and supported my dreams.” In saying that, Buckley did relate to the struggles all creative people have to go through when they try to make their art. “I can definitely recognise the fear of wanting something for yourself. And I think lots of people can recognise that, whether you’re a man or a woman or eight or 80 or whatever social corner you’re from.” The character of Rose-Lynn has been swirling around Glaswegian writer Nicole Taylor’s head for a decade. “About ten years ago she just started chatting to me,” Taylor tells us. “I just heard her voice in my head, and it was honestly like I was transcribing. She was so herself. And although I’ve written a zillion drafts of the screenplay over the years, her lines have barely changed. So she kind of came to me fully-formed.” While the character came easily to Taylor, her story was less forthcoming. Surprisingly,

divine intervention came from a place that tends to be a vacuum of creativity: The X-Factor. “I was writing the story and was so many drafts along and then I saw an episode of The X-Factor and there was a girl who sang, she was amazing and I was cheering her from my couch. And then the next minute they play that cynical wee VT where there’s the big reveal where they totally undermine her.” The episode’s twist was this talented singer also had a history of addiction and kids who had been placed in care. “From having been totally rooting for her, I suddenly found myself not knowing what to want for her, and that made me feel like, yeah, keep writing the screenplay even though everyone thinks you’re mad. I didn’t have an answer, it was a question, and I love starting drama where there’s a question I don’t know the answer to.” The film hinges on these two opposing emotions: should Rose-Lynn chase her dream in Nashville? Or should she shape up and take responsibility for the two children who need her love? Taylor’s script sharply gives us two characters who embody these conflicting points-ofview. Rose-Lynn’s mother Marion (played by Julie Walters in her best role in years) thinks it’s time for her daughter to grow up, and gets her a job as the housekeeper for Susannah (Sophie Okonedo), a bohemian Englishwoman with a grand house in a more affluent part of town. But in Susannah Rose-Lynn finds a champion, who encourages her to chase her dream after hearing her sing around the house. “That triangle of women was really important,” says Taylor. “It’s about this girl needing to be seen and you know, her mum can’t see her but this other woman can’t really see her either.” As well as Buckley’s heartfelt performance and this compelling, Bechdel test-passing pair of female relationships, the other thing Wild Rose has going for it is Glasgow itself. Directed by Tom Harper, much of the film takes place in and around Tradeston, Paisley Road West and Priesthill. As well as the Grand Ole Opry, The Laurieston pub and Silverburn Shopping Centre

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Interview: Jamie Dunn

make cameos; these are corners of the city that rarely get a look in most Glasgow productions. “Nobody wants that bland nowhere that sometimes happens when films are made here,” says Taylor when we compliment the film’s vivid sense of place. “The generic, Merchant City version of Glasgow, where it could be any modern city – that’s my worst.” Adding to this authenticity is Buckley’s convincing accent. Her own Irish brogue is as thick as a bowl of colcannon, but the 29-year-old has managed to hide it well in films like Beast and TV shows like Taboo and War & Peace. Even though she clearly has an ear for accents, she tells us “I worked my arse off ” to get this one right. “I love doing accents. I always look at them like they’re a piece of music in lots of ways. But with this one, I’m not going to lie, I was shitting myself.” Her trepidation comes from the fact Taylor’s film is such a love-letter to the city, and Glasgow feels such a part of the character as well. “It was like this crazy rhythm Rose-Lynn was working off all came from the energy of the city, and if I didn’t get the accent right, then there’s no point.” She tells us that she studied with a dialect coach for four months before shooting. “We went around Maryhill meeting and recording young women who were around Rose-Lynn’s age and worked from those to get it right.” Then, a month before the shooting started, she threw herself in at the deep end. “I just kind of base myself here and would, like, go around different newsagents and pubs asking for cigarettes in a Glasgow accent and hoping I got away with it.” Did you, we ask. “You tell me?” We reckon no one would have batted an eyelid. When we ask Buckley if there was a favourite local phrase she picked up, she doesn’t hesitate for a second: “Bawbag,” she says before doubling over. That answer might just make her an honorary Glaswegian. Wild Rose is released 12 Apr by Entertainment One

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The Good Life Alice Rohrwacher’s Happy as Lazzaro is one of the most imaginative films of the year. She tells us how she embraced fairytale rhythms and magic realism to tell a politically potent tale about the evils of capitalism

n new Italian film Happy as Lazzaro, realism and poetry sit side-by-side. Speaking to Alice Rohrwacher, the film’s 37-year-old writer-director, one senses similar qualities. Sometimes her answers will start by describing the humdrum aspects of filmmaking and end in a romantic flourish. At other times she’ll begin with an ironic, almost sarky response, before taking her train of thought to deeply sincere places. Rohrwacher’s film opens like a classic of the neo-realist style in which her nation used to specialise. We’re in a bucolic valley in the company of a small community of hardscrabble tobacco sharecroppers, who look as if they’re barely surviving. Clothes and living conditions suggest at the very least a pre-war setting. Money and food are in short supply – beds too. The extended family numbers the dozens, spread across four generations, all living on top of one another in a few crumbling farmhouses. Among the throng is Lazzaro, a strapping teenage boy with an angelic face on whose broad shoulders much of the farm’s labour falls. The lad, as good and honest as they come, accepts his unequal share of chores with a nod and a smile. These simple peasants are ruled over by a tyrannical marchioness – dubbed ‘the queen of cigarettes’ – but when this landlord does appear on the scene it’s clear not all is as it seems. For one thing, the marchioness has dragged her moody teenage son, Tancredi, along with her, and with his bleach blond hair, vibrantly coloured t-shirts and brick-sized mobile phone in hand, he looks like he’s just stepped off the set of 80s teen sitcom Saved by the Bell. The marchioness, it appears, has failed to inform her employees that feudalism was outlawed years ago, keeping them in blissful ignorance as they harvest her tobacco crops for practically nothing. This plot setup, Rohrwacher explains, was inspired by a real-life incident. “There was this strange but true piece, not very important, tucked away in the newspaper, saying something like ‘How stupid are these peasants?’” she recalls. “‘The marchioness forgot to tell them the law changed 15 years ago and they’re still thinking they are part of her property.’ I’ve seen so many stories about people who’ve used their privilege to keep other people in ignorance, but this little article I read

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many years ago, I always remembered it.” While visiting the plantation, Tancredi strikes up an odd-couple friendship with Lazzaro. The mischievous brat has cooked up a plan to fake his own kidnapping in an attempt to extort money out of his tightfisted mother, and the credulous Lazzaro is just happy to be of help to his new friend, getting himself embroiled in the hare-brained scheme with the same easy-going ebullience he shows when doing the lion’s share of the work around the farm. He seems to have no clue he’s being used and suffers with a serene smile. It becomes clear Lazzaro is something of an allegorical figure – although this holy innocent is no hero. “Of course it would be lovely if someone like Lazzaro becomes the justice of the poor, but unfortunately life is not like that,” says Rohrwacher. “The poorest people around him don’t complain, so Lazzaro can’t imagine they need anything; but he listens to the plight of Tancredi, this spoiled kid who’s the only one

feeling sorry for himself.” Lazzaro’s level of altruism is not to be aspired to, she explains: “If you were to ask Lazzaro, ‘Can you go and put this bomb in this school?’ he’d say ‘yes’. He’s not someone who’s taking a position on what he sees in front of him because he’s always seeing in other people a possibility of good.” Lazzaro, then, might stand for the minimum wage worker who stays quietly dutiful while their rights are slowly eroded, or the uncomplaining citizen who refuses to vote for radical change despite continuing to get the shitty end of the stick. Rohrwacher is certainly more clued-up and radical than her saintly protagonist. From the neorealist beginning, her thrillingly imaginative film starts to adopt fairytale-like rhythms. A gasp-inducing rupture at the heart of the film – one too surprising to spoil – might even be argued as sending Happy as Lazzaro into timetravelling genre territory. Rather than detract from her film’s fierce political dimensions, Rohrwacher’s use of the magical only serves to enhance the potency of her message. “Poetry can be politics,” Rohrwacher says of her film’s singular style, before hesitating. “No,” she corrects herself. “Poetry is politics! You can use the fairytale to be more universal in the political sense.” But it’s not just in terms of content that Rohrwacher’s politics are expressed. “It’s political, too, to tell a story where the protagonist isn’t your typical hero. And the script is political because it doesn’t follow the rule of the hero’s journey; it doesn’t follow the rules that at page 40 you have to reveal this, and then there’s a second turning point at page whatever, and the antagonist goes here. It’s political because it throws out those rules.” Australian actor Cate Blanchett and her fellow Cannes jury members seem to agree with Rohrwacher on her script’s qualities. When Happy as Lazzaro premiered at last year’s edition of that grandest of film festivals, Rohrwacher won best screenplay. Many commentators had hoped, however, that the Italian filmmaker might have been the first woman to lift the festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or, since Jane Campion a

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Interview: Jamie Dunn

quarter of a century ago for The Piano. Rohrwacher was well aware that much hope was placed on the shoulders of Happy as Lazzaro – one of only three films by female directors in Cannes’ competition field of 21 features – but for her, the film industry’s problems go well beyond who wins the Palme d’Or. “At Cannes, we got a lot of questions about women directors, but it’s like asking the problems of immigration to a refugee who is the only one to survive the horrible trip out of their homeland. I think we have to go back much further: put the same questions to people who decide who goes to the film schools, to the people who determine to whom they give money to make films.”

“ Lazzaro is not taking a position on what he sees in front of him, because he’s always seeing in other people a possibility of good” Alice Rohrwacher

Unlike her protagonist Lazzaro, Rohrwacher doesn’t suffer these injustices with a smile. “It would be easier for everyone if a woman won the prize at Cannes in some ways, but you’d also have people saying, ‘Ah, she won because she’s a woman.’ So it’s always against you.” Happy as Lazzaro is released 5 Apr by Modern Films

THE SKINNY

Other Lives As his much-anticipated debut novel You Will Be Safe Here is published, Damian Barr discusses the empathy of reading, modern day masculinity and the history of colonial brutality

he title of Damian Barr’s debut novel You Will Be Safe Here sounds reassuring. The reality is anything but as the story veers between South Africa in the midst of the second Boer War in 1901, as a woman and her young son are forced into a British-run concentration camp, and recent 2010 Johannesburg, where a bookish teenage boy is sent packing to a violent training camp promising to ‘make men out of boys’. Through its moving, page-turning look at extreme cruelty and kindness, the novel shines a light on the realities of historical colonial brutality and a modern day legacy of nationalistic masculinity. So, what drew Barr to South Africa as a setting for the novel, and how did he research it? “It’s where my stories were; both the historical one and the contemporary one. I didn’t decide to set it there. It just happens to be where the stories happened that inspired me to write the novel. I’d never been before and it was fascinating to see the place I’d read and researched for years. The Arts Council gave me a grant to travel there and it makes all the difference – walking, sleeping, breathing, crying there. That trip brought it all to life and meant I had to rip up some of what I’d been working on and look in another direction. “The Anglo-Boer War Musuem were very generous – it’s a powerful place to visit. But really it’s down to one heroic woman that we know anything – Emily Hobhouse travelled there and uncovered the camps in 1900 and wrote back to England. She was vilified for her bravery and few believed her – that Britain had invented these hellish places where tens of thousands of women and children were dying. She recorded the stories of these women who inspired the characters of Sarah and Helen. She saved lives and was given a state funeral in SA. We should have a statue of her in front of Parliament.” Sarah, who is sent to Bloemfontein Camp, is particularly well drawn as a character, balancing her declining hope for release and the return of her husband with the pressing challenge of finding food and safety for her son. Did Barr feel any apprehension about writing from the perspective of a woman? “I’m glad you think so! I wrote from my mum’s perspective and my granny’s perspective in [memoir] Maggie & Me. I thought a lot about these women and how to give them a voice that history, and misgogyny, had denied them. For me it was about listening for a long time before I started writing and then being true to who they are. “My childhood was dominated by strong women and I was raised by my mum. Being a single parent requires enormous strength and especially being a single mother. It required my mum to make sacrifices I will never be called upon to make and sometimes it meant she did not always make the best choices either. I wanted to explore this role and give it a context. What do single mothers lose and gain? What are their particular strengths and challenges? What are their stories?” Sarah is fortunate to be befriended by Helen, a colourful character who shows her the ways of the camp and helps secure extra food. What was the inspiration for her? “My chickens! She reminds me of a scratty, persistent hen that’s determined to look after its chicks. All her movements and mannerisms came from that observation. But on a more serious note, Helen is judged

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by a lot of the women around her – they think she is a slut and a whore. She does what she has to do for her child. I wanted the reader to think about what they might do to save the person they love most.”

“ This crisis of masculinity is global. The problem is global so the solution must be too. Feminism frees men too”

read lots of books, often before they’re finished. It’s a real privilege to be part of that literary conversation. I don’t feel that way about all writers just as I am sure all writers don’t feel that way about me!” In the modern half of the book, character Willem’s love of reading sets him against frustrated parents who don’t understand his difficulty fitting in with other boys. He benefits from the escapism and alternate perspectives. “Fiction is the cornerstone of empathy. I am not likely to swim to the bottom of the sea or fly to the moon but a book can take me there. It can also

take me into a stifling hold with a thousand slaves being taken across the Atlantic, or to an operating room where a surgeon must choose between the life of a mother or her child. Fiction shows us other lives, other times and places, and lets us see different lives for ourselves. It is a hand that reaches out to us. This particular book gives voice to those who were and are voiceless and asks readers to watch difficult choices being made.” You Will Be Safe Here is published by Bloomsbury on 4 Apr bloomsbury.com/author/damian-barr

Damian Barr

All of the characters face intense hardship and pressures. Willem is faced with macho posturing and has difficulty matching up to it. Is there a crisis in masculinity today? “South Africa has a culture of toxic masculinity unlike any other place I have ever been. It affects men and women (though not equally) and it is so violent it is almost pornographic. Boys like my character Willem are being forced into real-life camps – like the one Raymond Buys was murdered in – to ‘make men out of boys’. These places and the racist, sexist ideology underpinning them are a terrifying symptom. That said, South Africa is also proposing the most radical of solutions to many of these problems and it is, by no means, a dystopia. Furthermore, this crisis of masculinity is global. The problem is global so the solution must be too. Feminism frees men too. “If we don’t learn from it we are doomed to repeat it over and over. I wanted to show cycles of violence but I also wanted to show how individuals can break those cycles. Victim is not doomed to be victimiser – I hate that lazy thinking. Survivors can inspire – that is what I tried to do with Maggie & Me and what I hope this novel does too. This story is very specifically South African but it is also universal.” Having previously published the well-received memoir Maggie & Me about growing up gay during Thatcher’s rule, it’s fair to wonder how Damian feels to now be bringing out his debut novel. “Samuel Johnson said ‘A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it.’ I am really looking forward to having conversations with readers who bring their own history and story to what I’ve been working on this past five years. It’s all writing, whether fiction or memoir, so I don’t feel more or less nervous about the form. I am less fearful, I suppose, about what my family might think this time round.” There’s a lot of advance praise for the book, including from the late Diana Athill, iconic editor who said, “You come out of reading it a different person from when you went in.” What does it mean to be so well received by other writers? “The world, truly. Diana was very involved and gave me some stern early feedback! Through my literary salon I get to meet lots of writers and

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Photo: Jonathan Ring

Interview: Laura Waddell

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LGBT+ Theatre in Scotland Interview: Carla Jenkins

We look at what can be done to keep LGBTQ+ stories on the Scottish stage

Queerness: In Captivity? Theatre director, playwright and poet, Drew Taylor-Wilson, has vociferously worked as a champion of LGBT+ representation over the last decade, and his new play, Captivity, was performed as a rehearsed reading at The Pride Plays. One seminal piece in his back catalogue is 44 Stories, which was named after the 44 countries where – at the time of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014 – homosexuality was still illegal, and in some places, punishable by death. “I’ve been flying that flag, actively creating and putting out into the realm LGBT work since I started,” explains Taylor-Wilson. “Back then, I was one of only a few artists overtly making work that had LGBT narratives consistently as part of the work. Now I find that that’s not the case, and that’s beautiful,” he explains. Does the Mainstream Have to be Mundane? In 2016, queer activist, artist and storyteller, Lindsay Amer wrote in The Scottish Journal of Performance: “When queer stories begin to be told and treated with the same level of normalcy with which heterosexual stories are told, then queerness itself will be perceived as the everyday, mundane way of life that it is, rather than the inflammatory, inappropriate calamity it is still treated as today.” Arguably, the mainstream representation of queerness is commercialised homosexuality. Taylor-Wilson comments that one trend is the dramatisation of the AIDS crisis, particularly at

the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. “It’s about commodification, of course, but it’s about a patriarchal, white supremacist structure that influences the LGBT+ stories that we are hearing,” he explains. “There is no coincidence that the most popular queer stories to come out in pop culture over the last two decades are about men dealing with the AIDS crisis. We keep hearing about it… now, of course, that is a horrible moment about LGBT history, but there are other stories to tell… I think we still have a long way to go in how our narrative is reflecting our understanding of what it means to be a queer person in contemporary Britain,” he continues. Programming Queer Voices Scottish theatre programmes are consistently hampered by a lack of narratives depicting the fight for acceptance of variant genders as well as trans rights and visibility – too often queer women and protected characteristics are neglected in theatre. Live artist and theatremaker Ivor MacAskill, the creator of unique performances for children and adults such as Gendersaurus Rex and MOOT MOOT, suggests that the inability to fit queer experiences onto stage settings could be a possibility. “For me, some of the most exciting queer performances are messy and sexy responses to artists’ own autobiographies [and] so are performed by and are about the bodies of the queer artists who create them, and that often sits outside of a new writing or play context,” MacAskill says. Steven Thomson, the Creative Director of OutSpoken Arts Scotland, the professional arts organisation that focuses on those people with the protected characteristics, describes a lot of the more regular commissions as “sanitised.” “There are a lot of artists in the community who feel that queer space is being eroded,” Thomson begins. “I think there is a bit of push and pull in the queer community about having an identifiable racial community, where queer artists don’t see themselves fitting into the mainstream audience. “The issue to a certain extent is the visibility of the artists through the organisation that specifically champions them. When the artists are being commissioned, it tends to be discreet and irregular. Young artists are looking for role models, and if you aren’t being championed in a

MOOT MOOT

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specific programme somewhere, then you aren’t being identified properly,” Thomson continues. Lack of Queer Theatrical Spaces Not only is there a lack of queer visibility in theatrical commissions, but MacAskill believes that the recent closure of queer theatrical spaces is perhaps magnifying the lack of queer visibility in the industry. “For Scotland-based artists, there are few venues where this kind of work is supported,” says MacAskill. “It’s happening in clubs and cabaret settings instead. There is a massive void left by the loss of the Arches which was a place for experimentation and developing work that was queer in both form and content and thus might defy categorisation and the usual funding streams. The last event at the Arches was the spectacularly rousing performance party, Queer Futures – we didn’t know that the future would be the closure of the venue and many of the artists involved not getting paid or having anywhere to make future work.” A Solution? The answer, again, seems to lie in youth education and better programming. “We need more opportunities and places for artists, particularly younger artists, to connect with audiences in a queer rainbow of performance modes and contexts, at all stages of development and scale,” says MacAskill. “We need spaces and support to make the work and then we need promoters outside of the Central Belt to be braver about their programming.” “Places like the National Theatre, the Tron, the Lyceum… what they’re not doing is placing these stories in the work that they are commissioning,” Taylor-Wilson adds. “[Not] enough work is being commissioned that is entrenching LGBT voices in their narratives, and these are the companies that are deciding how these voices are being put together, how the storylines are portrayed, and how these voices are being represented. Programming is happening, but only because good artists are making that work.” That’s not to say there’s no hope for Scottish theatre; Taylor-Wilson is currently writing a work which celebrates the millennial experience through four differing demographics. “I’m so excited to be able to put those narratives out into the realm as part of a national tour in the autumn,” he says. “I’m trying!”

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Meanwhile, MacAskill stresses the importance of saving the spaces for drag and cabaret alongside the staging of other queer experiences, and OutSpoken continue to champion the protected characteristics of artists and their art. However, the lack of spaces for queer artists in Scotland, mentioned by Thomson, is a problem, and the loss of high-profile events, such as Glasgay – which closed in 2015 after failing to secure Creative Scotland funding – has caused after-shocks that are still felt in the community. The Pride Plays were right to stress that we are now half a century on from Stonewall, and today we’re working towards a new normal, where queer stories are told as much as heterosexual ones. But with everything, progress is slow and bumpy.

“ We need more opportunities and places for artists, particularly younger artists, to connect with audiences in a queer rainbow of performance modes and contexts” Ivor MacAskill

What’s Next? What will it look like on the other side? In 2016, Amer speculated that, “this new queer normalcy might even force another reclamation of the word ‘queer.’” But does the word have to change, or be reclaimed? Can’t the methods of its representations change, just as the experience changes? Or does something have to lose its magic when it becomes ‘normal’? And who says ‘normal’ is fashionable, anyway?

THE SKINNY

Photo: James Wilson

t’s spring, and we’re steadily moving away from LGBT+ History Month in Scotland, which took place in February. This year’s theme was CATALYST: 50 Years of Activism, which acknowledged the work of activists who, in the 50 years since Stonewall, have worked tirelessly to promote and embed LGBT+ history and experiences into the fabric of our everyday being. It goes without saying that when you shine a light on something that’s usually in darkness, the darkness feels more potent when the light finally goes out. So, with the theatre company Shift's The Pride Plays, Scotland’s first ever LGBTQI+ playwright festival, and LGBT+ History Month ending a few weeks shy of the Ides of March, the question remains: what more could be done to maintain the level of LGBT+ representation in Scottish theatre?

Photo: Jemima Yong

The Art of Improv The people behind Something Smashing, Edinburgh’s newest dance and music improvisation night, sit down to chat about the difference between planned performance and improvisation

What’s the format of the evening? GW: The spaces we’ve used so far don’t tend to have a designated stage. We try to keep people in the same informal area (there is a performance space marked out in the middle). The format has been to have three sets, about 20 minutes each. There is never just one person on stage… we try to always make sure there’s dance and music happening at the same time. Do the audience get involved? SR: No, I know in a couple of sets I’ve done there’s

been a bit of encouragement for the audience to get up, and sing a little bit, but it’s not a participatory thing; it is a performance event. GW: Although, we are keen to get new people to come along, so if people do contact us we’ll try to find out a bit about them and about their practice and think where they might fit in.

participate more and more, there is a relaxed and open feeling to the night. Everyone is excited for what it’s going to be, rather than being impressive – though of course, they are impressive!

thinking: ‘What are we going to do now?!’ SR: Most of the people who I know who are improvisers, including the musicians, they’re all people who are prepared to let go of their material... And that openness, it means you’re available for comedy… For all of us, there can be real moments of nervousness but generally as people

Something Smashing, Whitespace Gallery, Edinburgh, 18 Apr, more info: facebook.com/somesmash

Who are the types of people who perform? GW: When I’m looking for [musicians] for Something Smashing, I’m looking for people that have an interest and willingness to engage with dance... You can play with another musician with your eyes closed but we would say at Something Smashing that you’ve got to keep your eyes open because you should be changing what you do as the dance changes! SR: There’s a lot of common friends and a lot of those musicians have been coming to dance improvisation events as dancers... so there’s this little pool of people, and sometimes they abandon ship. We’ve got a couple of musicians who love moving and this is beautiful. What can audiences expect from an improvised rather than planned performance? GW: What people seem to get most from it is the sense of drama – you know that the people onstage don’t know what’s going to happen. In some cases, they haven’t met each other before, they just find each other on stage. If a dancer suddenly comes on as a motorbike (which somebody did the last night), the musicians are

Something Smashing

Photo: Chantal Guevara

When did Something Smashing start, and why? Graeme Wilson: Our first one was in April, 2017. I work at the music department at Edinburgh University: We had a network called Concurrent that aimed to bring together improvisers from different disciplines. As part of one of those events, I’d been put in touch with [dancer] Alma Lindenhovius. Something Smashing came out of conversations following that… Alma has moved on now, so it’s myself and Skye that organise it. (Dancer Tess Letham will also be joining). Skye Reynolds: I used to try to set up platforms for dancers to perform in public in unusual spaces, and improvisation is one of my practices. It was really difficult, because in Edinburgh we don’t have a lot of what I call ‘dirty platforms’ to show work in a formative state. There really aren’t many public outlets for dance improvisation. People don’t want to pay for it. It rarely gets booked, unless you’re right at the top of the scale.

Interview: Roisin O’Brien

Sarah Bebe Holmes on Egg The Skinny chats to Sarah Bebe Holmes about her sell-out Fringe show, Egg, which uses aerial acrobatics to tell a true story of fertility and choice

Interview: Hannah Wright

Exploring the Politics of Fertility Ten years in the making, Egg explores the politics of fertility, medical invasiveness and the personal effects of hormones on the body, through personal testimony and aerial performance, set to music by Hungarian bassist and composer Balázs Hermann. Holmes, a circus and physical performer who has received global recognition for her boundary-pushing practice, created the show with Paper Doll Militia, where she is co-founder and

April 2019

her own voice. Though working with so much text was something new, the heartfelt storytelling in Egg is a continuation of her brand of narrative performance. This side of the show speaks powerfully of circus arts’ ability to do more than just razzle dazzle and instead touch on important themes and topics. And for Holmes, creating conversations in this way is a vital element of her work. “I think where circus can really grow is to do something dangerous because it pushes a boundary, because it pushes a social button, because it asks a challenging question.”

Egg

co-artistic director. She spent a long time thinking about the ways in which to tell this story of female fertility, sexuality and, most importantly, choice. Finding the Right Aesthetic In her quest for the right kind of aesthetic for her work, Holmes has suspended herself from monkey bars, a streetlamp, chains, aerial silks and entirely invented equipment. Unsurprisingly, her approach to Egg was no different, and she pursued the project with her trademark desire to

Photo: Richard Dyson

n the development phase of Sarah Bebe Holmes’ aerial theatre piece, Egg, which explores issues of fertility and science using plastics, she asked herself the simple question: “Is this a story for women?” Whereas stories about men are routinely packaged as ‘neutral’, the experiences of women are often pushed into their own genre or presented as something that will only appeal to other women. Egg – an autobiographical account of the process of donating her eggs to a friend so that they could have a baby – is a show that quite easily could have fallen into this trap. But that initial question about who the story is for is something that Holmes considered and rejected from the beginning of the show’s development. “It’s a story for all people. It’s about being a parent, it’s about being a child, it’s about family relationships, it’s about love,” she explains. These universal elements proved correct when the show sold out its run at the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

present something new and different, without relying on traditional circus apparatus. “It didn’t necessarily make sense for me to tell this story using a trapeze,” Holmes explains. For Egg, only clear plastic felt right. “The process was so invasive that I, in a way, had to become transparent… there was nothing to hide,” she continues. Circus as Storytelling Alongside impressive aerial feats utilising this plastic apparatus, Holmes also tells the story in

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A Strange Piece With Universal Meaning When asked where she sees herself taking Egg next, Holmes’ ambitions are more regional. “I’m hoping to really bring it to some more rural locations... I think people worry about locations for shows that are more wacky and weird and I want to challenge that. I want to bring my strange piece that has universal meaning to village halls in northern Scotland,” she says. Further funding must be sought for this next iteration of Egg but Holmes is grateful for the response to the show so far. “I got to tell a story that means a lot to me and use a medium that I’ve been using for 15 years in order to tell it... and people came.” Egg by Paper Doll Militia is showing as part of the Edinburgh Science Festival, Summerhall, Fri 12-14 Apr, 7.30pm sciencefestival.co.uk/event-details/egg-by-paper-doll-militia

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Meet the Faces of Byres Road Ahead of Dutch eyewear specialist Ace & Tate opening its new shop on Byres Road – the brand's first in Scotland – we meet some of the people they’ll be joining in the bustling community of Glasgow’s West End Interview: Jamie Dunn Photos: Beth Chalmers

lasgow is innately cool, but there’s always a new neighbourhood trying to market itself as No Mean City’s most happening part of town. Areas as culturally and geographically diverse as Finnieston, Denniston and Shawlands have all tried to lay claim to the title of ‘Glasgow’s hippest destination’ in recent years, but Byres Road remains the daddy. The beating heart of the city’s bustling West End, its eclectic mix of independent shops, bars and restaurants has been drawing Glaswegians west for decades, while its proximity to Glasgow University means that each year a new set of young dreamers brings new vibrancy to the thoroughfare. Soon to join this throng is Ace & Tate, the eyewear specialist

with glasses for every side of you. Eye tests at Ace & Tate are free, and the brand's stylish frames and premium lenses start at £98. And if you need your frames pronto, a same-day-service allows you to collect prescription opticals and sunnies within just a few hours. A champion of originality and people with multifaceted personalities, Ace & Tate should find both in spades on Byres Road. As well as launching a shop in Glasgow – its first north of the border – Ace & Tate is also celebrating optimism this spring. With this in mind, The Skinny took a stroll down Byres Road to meet some members of this warm and welcoming West End community.

Creon wears Pierce in Chocolate Havana Fade

Creon Brock, Òran Mór At the top of Byres Road stands Òran Mór, a beautiful old church that’s been converted into one of Glasgow’s liveliest venues. On a crisp, bright morning, we meet venue manager Creon Brock, who’s got a hectic few weeks ahead. “Coming up in the calendar we’ve 35 shows happening over 36 nights,” he tells us. “But that’s why it’s great working here: each day is different.” Creon began working at Òran Mór in 2006 while he was a student, and 13 years later he’s gone from weekend shifts in the club downstairs

to helping book and run the venue’s events. He tells us a big perk of his job is being at the heart of the West End community. “There’s always been that feeling here, certainly with our Play, A Pie and A Pint performances throughout the day; there are a lot of regulars who come along every week.” There are other benefits too, such as having one of the best shopping streets in the city at your disposal. “I do love nipping down to Fopp on my lunch break,” beams Creon, “so I was over the moon when it opened again.” Top of Byres Road; oran-mor.co.uk Paul wears Tyler in Midnight

Emma Gray, Fopp Creon is referring to the recent closure of Byres Road’s iconic original branch of Fopp after the chain was purchased by Canadian firm Sunrise Records. But locals who see the shop as a vital part of the West End’s music scene protested the closure, and as a result Fopp has risen again, phoenix-like. “It was a bit mad here for a while, but it’s nice to come back, especially after how supportive people in the area have been,” says Emma Gray when we pop in to find the muchloved record store back in full flow. The local support was overwhelming (Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite and comic book writer Mark Millar were particularly vocal). Part of the reason for this outcry is the personal connection people get from Fopp’s staff. “With some customers, I know all about what’s going on in their private lives,” says Emma. “I don’t know if they get that personal connection shopping in town. I’ve not really had it in other retail jobs, so I think it’s pretty specific to this area.” 358 Byres Road; fopp.com/stores/ glasgow-byres-road

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Emma wears Lily in Fizz

Lisa Jones and Paul Johnson, Oxfam Music Another music institution on Byres Road that’s not going anywhere soon is Oxfam Music. “As much as we’re here to make money for Oxfam, we’re also here to give people somewhere they can talk enthusiastically about music,” says assistant manager Lisa Jones. “They can discover new things here, take a chance on new music, and it’s great socially for the volunteers and for people in the community.” Having worked there for only four months, Paul Johnson is relatively new to Oxfam Music’s team, but he lives just around the corner and has been frequenting the shop for years. “It’s always been an interesting part of my life,” he tells us. “I’ve friends who’ve worked here a long time as volunteers and I knew how much they got out of it; I guess I just wanted to be part of that.” Paul reckons you’d struggle to find a more clued-up staff. “I think between all of us, we’re pretty encyclopedic, and working here gives us the chance to spend all day sharing our passion for music with people. In the age of everything being available online, that’s one of our key selling points: that customer relationship.” “The way the shop intersects with the local music scene is really nice as well,” adds Lisa. “We’ve had gigs played in the store before, we have people donating things in the shop who are musicians in the area, and it’s really nice to have that overlap. Glasgow’s such a great city with an active music scene, and we’re just happy to be a part of that in a way that raises money for a good cause.” 171 Byres Road; oxfam.org. uk/shop/local-shops/ oxfam-music-shop-byres-road

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Jonny Canning, W2 Off Byres Road, you’ll find a scattering of independent traders in the tributary lanes and alleyways that splinter off from the main strip. Down the wonky cobbles of Ruthven Lane, in a grey stone building that once served as a cowshed, there’s menswear store W2. Business student Jonny Canning works there part-time. “I would describe Byres Road as quite diverse,” the 23-year-old tells us. “You have places like Kimchi Cult, which is so different from somewhere like the Ubiquitous Chip, so it’s a really nice melting pot of different ideas and people. “Welcoming would be the word I’d use to sum up the area; I never feel uncomfortable around here.” Jonny tells us that his favourite thing about working in this part of town is simply the atmosphere. “I just enjoy coming in here. While it’s work, it’s getting to see friends and it’s getting to chat to people about something I enjoy.” He also gets a kick out of seeing people returning to the store. “People are always popping their heads in to have a look and see what we’ve got in that’s new. We get a good mix of students but also older people who maybe when they were younger were really into fashion and still like to look sharp. It’s maybe more difficult for them to find places on the high street that will cater for them as well, but we do that here.” 10 Ruthven Lane; w2store.co.uk

Jonny wears Neil Titanium in Satin Silver

Molly McBain, The Hanoi Bike Shop Across from W2 you’ll find charming Vietnamese restaurant The Hanoi Bike Shop, where 20-yearold Sydney student Molly McBain has been working for the last six months during her gap year. “There is a good sense of community here,” Molly says of the West End. “And I love how on the same street you have some world famous restaurants, but you’ve also got smaller cafes and independent places – everything you would need.” When Molly returns to Sydney to study architecture, she’ll be taking with her a love of the West End’s buildings. “I come from a suburban area of Sydney, so even just the outsides of the flats around here I find quite fascinating. I love all the different types of sandstone on all the tenement flats.” In her short time in Scotland, Molly’s done quite a bit of travelling around, but she’s not found anywhere quite like the neighbourhood she’s called home for the last six months. “Byres Road is definitely one of the most vibrant places I’ve found on my travels.” 8 Ruthven Lane; hanoibikeshop.co.uk

Wendy Rae, Lovesome Emporium On the other side of Byres Road you’ll find Cresswell Lane and a small community of boutique shops in the De Courcy’s Arcade. One of the newer members to this tight knit community of independent shops is Lovesome Emporium. Almost everything in Lovesome – including chunky knit blankets, knitted scarves and handmade lampshades – is crafted by owner Wendy Rae, who opened the store last summer. “I like the vibe here in the West End,” she says. “We’ve a lot of regular customers and the other shops in De Courcy’s are really supportive of one another; we’re like a wee family up here.” That sense of community stretches out into the West End as a whole. “There’s always a lot of community activity going on,” she says. “I walked past the Hillhead Library the other week and there were folk doing Tai Chi in the window, and

Wendy wears Mia in Marmalade

there are a lot of nice things like that. This is the right place for me and the shop.” Upstairs @ De Courcy’s Arcade, 5-12 Cresswell Lane; lovesome-emporium.co.uk All frames by Ace & Tate Ace & Tate opens at 221 Byres Road mid Apr aceandtate.com

Molly wears Zack in Satin Gold

April 2019

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Conversations in clay We continue our exploration of Scotland’s vibrant ceramics community by examining the work of five more makers Interview: Stacey Hunter

ll of the people featured this month work with clay and are boundary pushers, whether with technique, design or their aesthetic approach. Each works at the intersection of art and design, producing ceramic objects for different audiences in exciting and often elaborate ways. James Rigler, originally from New Zealand, first studied 3D Craft before graduating from the Royal College of Art with an MA in Ceramics and Glass. His bold, vibrant ceramic sculptures are inspired by the language of architectural ornament “including its most monumental and grandiose schemes. I aim to create objects that have an emphatic, epic presence, cut adrift from their original contexts to take on new meanings.” Rigler uses press-moulding and slip-casting techniques alongside traditional hand-building and describes his work as often site-responsive and led by thoughts of ruined and abandoned ancient places, romantic landscapes and stage sets. More recently, his work has also been informed by the languages of ornament found in emojis, logos and signage. An interest in the connotations of different materials, “particularly faux-finishes and a joyful but gaudy colour palette,” has introduced metal leaf as a new surface to his ceramic sculptures, with Rigler training alongside a master gilder to learn more about metal leaf, patination and the range of surface qualities he could achieve. “I recently began exploring new ways of working and new surface treatments as a means to introduce more spontaneity into my practice. Working with a small number of press-moulds, I’ve been creating hand-built ceramic pieces that use these shared starting points to create contrasting but related forms. I liken this to creating different words, with radically different meanings, from a common alphabet of letters. This approach was inspired by a recent residency in Jingdezhen, China, where I was struck by the close relationship between architectural ornament and the prolific (and, to me, illegible) advertising logos and texts seen across the city. It has enabled me to work faster and more exuberantly than usual, which has felt thrilling and unnerving.” His work was exhibited with Craft Scotland at the Saatchi Gallery show Collect in London in last month and new, large-scale works will be exhibited this year including Primitive Forms at Aberdeen Art Gallery. Garnet McCulloch – originally from Canada – lives in Glasgow where he has been running his Fireworks Studio for the past decade. He designs and makes fresh and colourful functional cone 6 pottery – a technique where glazes are layered and combined by pouring, dipping and spraying; and a controlled cooling cycle enhances both colour and texture adding depth and interest. “I’ve been making pots since 1994 in Alberta, Manitoba, Alaska, Montana and the Isle of Skye.

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Frances Priest,The Tiled Corridor

All the work is made on the potter's wheel using glazes I’ve developed over the past 20 years. It’s a constant process of testing and reinventing. Fireworks also has a shop area where people are welcome to come in and shop or even just have a little nosey about.” His aesthetic is unusual in contemporary ceramics with colour palettes and textures that are more typical of late 1960s and 1970s pottery and feature squat, rounded forms. His satirical ceramic fruit and vegetables produced in collaboration with fellow Canadian Erica Eyres for The Vegetable Store (2016), a ‘dysfunctional shop’, was one of the most vivid and popular exhibitions of that year’s Glasgow International. McCulloch produces new work at least once a week, runs evening classes and supports more experienced potters by providing wheel time and the space to further their own glaze research at the studio in Glasgow’s Garnethill area. Frances Priest is an artist, designer and maker whose work explores and interprets languages of ornament from different cultures, places and periods in history. From her Edinburgh studio she creates intricate and colourful ceramic objects that celebrate ornament and pattern, using clay as a canvas on which to build richly drawn and layered surfaces of inlaid line, glaze colour and enamel decals. “Beyond the studio I develop projects and commissions that respond to people and places, using my interests as a platform from which to engage with new environments. This approach has led to work in varied and sometimes

DESIGN

Photo: Shanon Tofts

Garnet McCulloch

THE SKINNY

James Rigler

April 2019

Photo: Sophie Mutevelian

MANIFESTO

Photo: Katie Rose Johnston

Photo: Shanon Tofts

Frances Priest, Studio

unexpected settings, from an English Tudor banqueting room in Sheffield, to a country home on the Scottish island of Raasay.” Priest was recently commissioned by the Edinburgh Lothian Health Foundation to design and produce a major ceramic project titled The Tiled Corridor for The Royal Edinburgh Hospital, an NHS hospital specialising in mental health. The overall scheme contains approximately 2500 tiles manufactured by her collaborators Craven Dunnill Jackfield, plus 300 tiles made in her own studio, covering an area approximately 14m x 2.5 meters. The concept recalls a golden era in decorative tile use, responding to historical research into two Victorian tiled stairwells in Craig House, former site of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. Priest’s work can be seen alongside the historic ceramic collections at The Bowes Museum in an exhibition called Influences of the East from 22 June to 15 September 2019 – and a presentation of her collaborative work with Craven Dunnill Jackfield will be presented as part of Design Exhibition Scotland at Edinburgh’s Lyon & Turnbull from 8 June until 2 July. M A N I F E S T O is a Glasgow based ceramics studio founded by Katie Rose Johnston specialising in creating functional artworks for the home that are contemporary, high-quality and affordable. Play and experimentation through form, colour and abstraction are the driving forces behind Johnston’s sculptural

Mariella Verkerk

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ceramics as well as “walking, foraging and researching the historicity and science of clay. I am compelled to try my hand at every process I can and this often leads to new discoveries that challenge how I create. M A N I F E S T O is constantly evolving through critical evaluation, research and play.” Like many contemporary makers in Scotland, Johnston is interested in challenging the friction between the art world and craft from the perspective of a potter. “Having been immersed in institutionalised art, I wanted to develop a more accessible connection with my audience, which I found through working as a craftsperson designing playful functional ware and teaching ceramics. “I love the individuality of hand building as each piece has its own distinct personality that shines through,” she says. Each product is crafted by hand from earthenware clay and over a period of three weeks they are carefully honed, sculpted and polished repeatedly as they dry. Johnston has recently been experimenting with slip casting a series of vessels inspired by the concept of the Multiple. After demoulding, each slip cast vessel is additionally sculpted by hand in the same fashion as her hand-built pieces, giving her vases their own distinct identity. “The most exciting thing about ceramics is there is never an end to learning. I’m currently taking an exciting step forward through researching and developing my own glazes. It’s a precise science with infinite possibilities so the future of M A N I F E S T O is a very exciting prospect to imagine.” You can see M A N I F E S T O pieces up close at Glasgow’s Southside Makers Market on 6 April and at Super Market Lates at The Art School on 20 April. Dutch-born Mariella Verkerk studied Fine Art at Dundee’s Duncan of Jordanstone where she developed a highly collaborative practice alongside fellow students in her cohort. “It’s exciting to work with people whose work I love and also have contrasting skills to me like Sian Patterson [ceramics] and Catherine Johnston at Object Company [wood carved objects] who both have a very slick and smooth finish. It allows me to keep learning and to celebrate other people’s skills – instead of being competitive. Our year was very collaborative and cross-disciplinary, it was such a fun and fostering atmosphere and we pushed each other on.” Verkerk finds making small batches of one-off pieces allows her to experiment according to ever-changing functions, interests and moods. The designer has taken a break from ceramics in the past year due to health reasons and is now delving into textiles. She is currently experimenting with dying fabrics, making patterns and will be collaborating with fellow makers and designers in the near future to create wearable pieces and bags. “I like to collaborate as much as possible because it is fun for me but also you can constantly re-invent ideas and spice things up. I like to make in all mediums, but it makes sense to work with talented individuals who have their unique skills to bring to a project.” See Verkerk’s quilts and textiles on her Instagram feed at @handsfreeprojects and her ceramics at @mariellaceramics.

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Art Against Ageism Two years in the making, as part of Outskirts festival Platform in Glasgow host a collaborative group show by five older artists who are above 50 but at the early stage of their art career

Interview: Adam Benmakhlouf

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Outskirts Highlights

component will be Lesley’s work, as she went on to write two new pieces of writing. One is the voice that says how people forgot about the natural world. The second is an old woman who remembers.” During the Cove Park residency, they experimented with spacing out different people speaking the parts and engaged a sound artist to make it into a recorded sound work.

“ My imposter syndrome had been strongly driven by my own internalised ageism” Lesley Wilson

McElhenney speaks fondly of the work that he created alongside Clayton and Cameron. While the theme in place was the landscape, he sought to find common ground amongst himself, Clayton and Cameron. McElhenney identified that Clayton and Cameron both were very interested in the body, each coming from different kinds of performance backgrounds. What emerged is a complex and provocative series of long-exposure photographs of Clayton and Cameron, nude and

in different postures and blurily moving. While each of the artists speaks fondly and appreciatively of the support they have received from the organisations involved in making Timefield happen, participating artist Kate Clayton speaks sharply and insightfully of the unforgiving generalisation that comes with the label ‘old artist.’ “I don’t want to be identified through my age. But on the other hand, I am the age I am and I don’t care, so it’s a double edged [feeling]. We’ve all got this tag now, as we met on the older emerging artist residency. That’s hilarious! But the feedback we gave was that it wasn’t old enough, actually. Would you lump all people together between 20-50? You probably wouldn’t, you’d probably say over 30 or up to 35.” Speaking of the over-50 threshold of the residency, Clayton goes on: “all those decades are significantly different. I feel very different now than I did ten years ago, and I know that in another ten years, I’ll feel even worse!” Clayton laughs off this last part before she summarises with bracing candour the intention and momentum that energises her practice as an artist, and in doing so sums up some of the urgency of each of the practices that are on show in Timefield. “Maybe I do the work just to prove to myself I’m alive still and I want to be part of the world. I have a voice and I demand to be seen and heard.” Timefield runs from 27 Apr-25 May

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utskirts is back at multi-arts hub Platform this April with a packed mini-festival featuring 30 artists performing a wide range of work. As ever, the Easterhouse Conversations promises something special. The annual project sees local musicians collaborate on fresh songs documenting the lives of the people of Easterhouse, and this year members of two of Glasgow’s most exciting bands are at the helm: Suzanne Rodden and Lewis Cook of Free Love and Eilidh Rodgers, one half of SAY Award-winners Sacred Paws. If frenetic jazz from the Glasgow underground sounds like your jam, be sure to check out the performance from Banana Oil, the jazz-funk trio featuring members of LYLO and Golden Teacher, who aim “to sound like the Mothers Of Invention without all the toxic masculinity.” If you haven’t already guessed it, the group’s live show brings a pleasing dose of humour along with the breakneck grooves. In theatre, be sure to catch the UK premiere of Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse’s The Guitar Man. Translated by Louis Muinzer and directed by Nora Wardell, the play’s focus is a man who makes his living singing the same songs day after day on the edge of town. Themes of loss, longing and loneliness are explored as we hear the man’s story in a show blending text, song and silence. Who could resist a show titled Bi-Curious George and Other Side Kicks? This is live artist Lucy Hutson’s curious collaboration with her dad Addrian aka Professor ‘the Amazing’ Addrian, a Punch and Judy man extraordinaire. We’re told this earnest artist will clash with her glib entertainer old man as “they reenact childhood magic tricks and reflect on what it means to choose the life of an artist”. Sounds tense. Also look out for some finely-calibrated absurdist theatre in the form of Shaking the Habitual from Platform Young Company. Using movement, text and sound, this derived performance questions the ways in which we conform to the world around us. The show recently went down a storm at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh as part of the Chrysalis Festival. [Jamie Dunn] Platform, 1000 Westerhouse Rd, Glasgow, 27 Apr, 3.30pm-late platform-online.co.uk

Platform Young Company

Photo: Saskia Coulson

Photo: Frank McElhinney

oes the status of emerging artist often imply a certain age range? When conjuring the mental image that comes with art student or recent art school graduate, what kind of age range comes to mind? As with any other profession, ageism tends to butt its way into the visual arts and create barriers or expectations that make it difficult to begin a new career progression later in life. In response to these conditions, the participants (all above 50) in Platform’s upcoming exhibition Timefield sought to create a support network with each other to remedy some of the isolation that comes of being older than the normative age of ‘new artists’. The exhibition originated in February 2017, when all of the artists were involved in a residency at Cove Park, put together by Luminate (Scotland’s creative ageing organisation) and Magnetic North (an award-winning theatre company based in Edinburgh). Photographer and particpating artist Frank McIlhenney speaks about the impact of this dedicated period spent with other older artists. “It stimulated quite a bit of discussion. This residency was specifically called the Older Artist Lab, and one of the things that came out was discussing being an older person that’s revising their art practice or starting from scratch. One of the things that came back from everyone was a sense of isolation. When I was at art school, it would be me and everyone else would be in their twenties. Yes over time you make friends, but it’s not as easy as if you’re with your peer group.” Writer Lesley Wilson also speaks eloquently about letting go of some of the personal barriers she had been feeling prior to the residency, and a radical change in her thinking that came with spending concentrated time amongst her peers. “During that week I developed a confidence and a sense of belonging as an artist. My imposter syndrome had been strongly driven by my own internalised ageism and a false belief that I had to start from scratch as an artist … whereas in fact I had a lifetime of experience and skills that could inform and support this transition to a new profession.” Throughout the interviews, the sense of relief from previous senses of alienation and anxiety recurs as a definitive part of their respective experiences of Cove Park and since. The work produced for the exhibition builds on this sharing of experience, and is, to varying extents, collaborative. Frank McElhinney, when asked about his own work in the exhibition immediately makes sure to correct any notion that he is individually responsible for any of the work in the show. “It’s not appropriate for me to talk about ‘my work’ [in the exhibition].” Ian Cameron makes the same point, that while there are elements of his own interests in the collaborative photography, he will not show any of his own work per se in the exhibition. McElhenney and Cameron made a series of new works along with fellow Cove Park resident, performance artist Kate Clayton. McElhenney describes the main elements of what will be included in the show at the end of this month. Alongside a sound work by Lesley Wilson and wall hangings by Annie Peel, the collaborative photographs of the three artists will be shown as large scale projections. “There are four main components, Annie makes the wall hangings. So when you go into Platform, the whole room will be enveloped by wall hangings and some of them have abstract paintings on them inspired by the landscape. The third

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Canvas City

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From pensioners with spray cans to using ceramic tiles to fix potholes, Nuart Aberdeen celebrates the wonders of street art

Words: Ben Venables

berdeen is once again a canvas for an array of street art, as the Granite City welcomes an international cast of artists this month for Nuart. Now in its third year, Nuart Aberdeen is a public art festival collaborating with people across the north-east’s cultural and business industries and with the local community. Nuart appeals to – and inspires – those from all ages and backgrounds, with art from internationally renowned street artists. From spray-painting pensioners, super sized walls reviving Scotland’s lost mural tradition, towers built from LEGO, artistically brilliant fixes to the mundane problem of road potholes and, not forgetting, the art of conversation. Indeed, it begins with a programme of films and talks that kicks off with an exclusive in-person interview with artist and playwright John Byrne at Belmont Filmhouse on 18 April. Byrne can draw on a six-decade career, including making album covers for Gerry Rafferty and The Beatles (his artwork for what became The White Album was rejected, but used later for compilation album The Beatles Ballads), but he first gained notoriety painting the gable end of a Glasgow tenement block back in 1975. The conversation will get everyone talking about street art and how it can invigorate a city’s collective imagination. Joining the eclectic line-up of globally renowned artists is London’s Ben Eine. Eine is a trailblazer in graffiti letterforms and was seminal in the rise of street art’s popularity. His partnership with a then-little-known artist called Banksy was a foundation for both of their careers. Together they

April 2019

LATA 65

set up the Pictures on Walls gallery which sold street art with a punk ethos. Eine’s murals now adorn walls worldwide; his CREATE mural is a 17,500 square metre artwork on industrial ground in East London and is visible from space. As well as looking at the big picture, visitors to Nuart Aberdeen will also find magic on a smaller scale. Ememem chooses an intriguing artistic medium: he repairs and transforms the cracks and potholes on roads and pavements. He turns them into colourful ‘puddles’ using locally sourced ceramics. Named street flacking, the term derives from his love of Harry Potter (flacking is a Quidditch foul commonly made by

the keeper in the Potterverse). Nuart is also set to change perceptions around ageing. Portuguese curator and architect Lara Seixo Rodrigues noticed urban art could reach the most varied of groups, especially older people. Over the course of her LATA 65 – Young at Art workshop, Aberdeen participants will learn all about street art. Starting with its roots in activism and graffiti, the two day event will conclude with the group producing their own work on the city streets as part of the festival. There are many more artists contributing to Nuart Aberdeen from all over the world: the photo-realist Smug (Australia); multimedia artist

Axel Void (US); a trio of stencil artists of very different kinds in Strøk, Hama Woods (Norway) and Evol (Germany); Jan Vormann (France), who will be using Lego to repair damaged walls; Julio Anaya Cabanding (Spain), who combines trompe l’oeil painting with the world of graffiti; Vhils (Portugal) carving portraits directly into outdoor walls; and UK artists Helen Bur, Hush and Dotmasters. This year’s festival is thematically influenced by Italo Calvino’s 1972 novel Invisible Cities, which explores the myriad possibilities of a city. Martyn Reed is director and curator of Nuart. He says: “This year’s theme explores the importance of storytelling and its relationship to the city, of narratives with the power to turn a single space into a multitude of places with different meanings to different people, stories that transcend ‘history’ and bring in herstory, yourstory, ourstory and theirstory – whilst freeing us from narratives we no longer need.” The street art will continue to be enjoyed all year round with free walking tours running from the launch weekend until October. Nuart Aberdeen is spearheaded by Aberdeen Inspired and Aberdeen City Council, with generous support provided from delivery partners Burness Paull and The McGinty’s Group. Nuart Aberdeen runs from 18-21 April

Contemporary Classic

Turning 20 is a major milestone birthday, but what does it mean in gallery years? This month Dundee Contemporary Arts are finding out as the multi-functional arts centre moves into its third decade

Interview: Adam Benmakhlouf

alking to the first Exhibitions Director of DCA, Katrina Brown (now Director of the contemporary art gallery The Common Guild in Glasgow), she describes how the relatively Ronseal-esque name of Dundee Contemporary Arts was actually a controversial choice at the time. “There had been a consultancy report commissioned by Dundee City Council and the university. Around that time, there were a lot of discussions about what it should be called.” One potential name was The Garage, as a nod to its previous function. “This report said that whatever happened with the name, it shouldn’t mention contemporary art because people don’t like it, and it would be advisable not to include the word Dundee.” Immediately before this initial period of the building becoming an arts centre, the DCA had another subcultural life, and another name. The Factory was the name given to the DIY skatepark that had previously sat on the site in the Nethergate, and pre-DCA, that name had stuck. Artist Raydale Dower has featured in these pages for his five-star Glasgow International project last year, but is also a primary source for The Factory days. “I spent a lot of time skateboarding in The Factory. At that time in the early- to mid-90s it was the only indoor skatepark in Scotland and home to a healthy underground social scene. It was DIY, self-built and self-organised, people travelled from all over Scotland to skate there… a creative hub before DCA was even on paper.” Dower continues: “Built with a DIY ethos, in many ways a perfect example of an anarchic social model, the top floor was tidied and regularly swept up, the wooden ramps built, related and maintained. The police knew that skateboarders were using the building but were happy to let them carry on as it was a positive use of derelict space and ensured a certain benign guardianship. “The Factory was a motivating reason for why I chose to study at Duncan of Jordanstone and throughout my degree it continued to influence my artistic development. As a creative space you could argue The Factory laid the groundwork and paved the way for the DCA. This might be a stretch of the imagination but it’s nice to think

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Eve Fowler

that the creative energy from those times is stored within the walls of the DCA and still permeates the exhibition spaces.” The change from Scotland’s indoor skate park to a major cultural hub was relatively quick. As Brown describes: “It went from an idea to an opening in the space of five years, which is quite speedy.” It was the beginning of lottery funding in 1995 that was a definitive catalyst for the DCA to come into existence and the City Council that led the project and still owns the building. “The idea that they saw an opportunity, got the funding together and opened the building within the space of five years seems almost impossible now.” As well as the beginning of the council’s pursuit of the new lottery funding, the University of Dundee is also an important player in the origin story of DCA. “The university was an important partner in the whole development. [It was] attracting lots of researchers from all over the world to work in medical sciences. Through the process of recruiting, people would often ask about the cultural life of the city: is there an arthouse cinema? Is there an art gallery? So the university could understand that in order to bring people to live here but also to keep them there, they had to seed an enhanced cultural life.” Not only attracting the university researchers, the DCA (along with Cooper Gallery and GENERATOR Projects) continues to attract an art audience to the city that would likely not otherwise make it to Dundee. The DCA’s current Exhibitions Director Eoin Dara describes how his relationship with the city grew out of his engagement with DCA, well before he was

employed there. Dara describes his initial encounters with the city while he was studying as an undergraduate student: “ I used to get the train from Edinburgh to Dundee and just walk from the train station to the galleries, see the shows and go back to the train.” Conversely, the artist Scott Myles lived his young life in Dundee, studied in Duncan of Jordanstone and it was as the DCA arrived that he left the city. For him, the artistic energy of the city was also a result of the concentration of creative talent that was buzzing inside the walls of DJCAD at the time. In the years before 1999, Myles was skating in The Factory then studying in DJCAD with a set of tutors that were each in the midst of their rise to national and international renown, including Graham Fagan, Cathy Wilkes and Victoria Morton. “They brought quite a lot of interesting people to the art school. We also had this amazing art history tutor Alan Woods, who was a personal friend of Ralph Rumney, one of the founders of the Situationist International [a subversive artistic movement that sought to radically alter people’s relationship to the city, culture and mass media]. “I can remember Alan giving a lecture in third year and he had taken slides of a walk, from the art school, down Perth Road, down past the garage which would become the DCA, then down to the current site of the V&A. And the joke was that at that point, you couldn’t get to the waterfront because the pavement came to the big city road and you couldn’t get across.” This was a lecture that was also a dérive, a journey through the city that is taken with heightened awareness

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and with the intention of creating new encounters with familiar surroundings. Myles remembers it fondly, and as a moment of being presented for the first time with new and radical concepts. This exciting period of DJCAD’s history was recognised by the DCA during their last big birthday, when they marked turning ten with a show that included Myles alongside some of the artists that were in DJCAD a few years above and below him, all of whom went on to national and international acclaim.

“ You could argue The Factory skatepark paved the way for the DCA... it’s nice to think that the creative energy from those times is stored within the walls” Raydale Dower

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Photo: Ruth Clark

A year before this, Rabiya Choudhry was in the show Altered States of Paint, one of two group exhibitions that featured her work in DCA. She fondly describes the unique experience that she had, remembering staying in the comfortable flat for artists (inside the DCA itself) and cooking dinner for the curator, Graham Domke. At the suggestion that this sounds sophisticated, Choudhry rebuts that dinner was a ready meal in the oven that she accidentally burnt. For Choudhry, every member of staff went “beyond” and she describes the sense that everyone was happy to be there. Choudhry acknowledges the importance of being in this show, and meeting people that she would later work with again. The show combined Scottish artists with other well-known painters from across Europe and beyond. Recently, Choudhry went to the earliest emails in her personal archive and looked back at the communications she had in advance of the show. Reading them, she remembers being at work and typing out replies, and that a computer bug meant that scrambled the ends of her emails. With characteristic modesty, Choudhry describes “that [it] was a bit of a punt” programming her alongside the other renowned international artists in the 2008 group show. “Being asked by [Graham Domke] to do the show was the first time I’d been seen in a big institution like the DCA.” Specifically, she describes having “room to breathe” within the group show and that normally in other galleries you don’t really have that. “It was amazing to have the chance to show in such a world-class space.” Throughout our interviews, people would mention other folks to talk to, singing their praises and how much they contributed to the DCA. Speaking to one person that’s been involved leads to the next talented person that invested their mind and lived out important parts of their professional lives around this institution. Scott Myles brings up the important place DCA Print Studio occupies as a space for artists to produce and experiment. He describes a series of prints he made alongside his friend, the late Kevin Hutcheson. “I’ve always found the Print Studio to be completely supportive of my work and a lot of artists have had great experiences with Annis [Fitzhugh, Head of the Print Studio].” While Myles was in the studio, he and Hutcheson were trying to use the big print table, neither having ever used it before. It was all going wrong – in a conventional technical sense. But for Myles, this was an important time and space to do the kind of experimentation that would inform later works. Tracking down these early experimental works, they included David Standing 4th May 2004 and David Sitting 4th May 2004, which is now part of the collection of the Tate. Eoin Dara eloquently describes his own sense of pleasure, responsibility and ambitions as he rounds off his

April 2019

second year in the job. He remembers “moving here, and very specifically living here right in the city, and getting a sense of the civic responsibility that you have in a job like this, and which DCA has as a public institution.” For him, this “was and continues to be the most exciting aspect of the job. What we’re doing is carrying on a legacy, to look at the programme that Katrina Brown and others have developed here historically, to maintain that level of ambition and experimentation and a real trust in artists and a real support towards artists. That’s something that DCA has done well.” Each interviewee talks about the importance of DCA “continu[ing] to push the boat out to the Tay” (as Choudhry puts it), and hoping that the two decades of experimentation and trust in artists continues to define the institution as it continues. Speaking to Dara, it’s clear the 20th birthday celebrations are only a small part of the expansive and ambitious programme that shapes the rest of the 2019 for DCA. “One thing that Beth [Bate, DCA director] and I are doing, is looking at projects that have happened up until now and starting specifically to look out for and make space for voices or positions that have been overlooked or underrepresented by dominant culture to date. That work is very much taken from a feminist position… Over the past year, it has been a deep privilege to work with the likes of Eve Fowler, Kate V Robertson and Margaret Salmon. “Then, in the upcoming programme, in our Summer Season, we are working with a major new commission looking at trans and nonbinary bodies under capitalism and finding ways to resist under those discriminatory structures. Then later on in the year we’re doing a large show with Alberta Whittle that’s sparking off lots of different things from her Margaret Tait film.” Going further, Dara describes “trying to be open institutionally to live acts of learning. We’re not worried about getting all the right answers behind closed doors then to put up a very confident front. There’s still space for taking risks

Rabiya Choudhry

and running experiments, what does and doesn’t work and we have to be open and honest about those things to make progress.” With its municipal-sounding name, Dundee Contemporary Arts could be mistaken for having established institutional status – though the status of public amenity arguably doesn’t mean security or survival in 2019. In fully appreciating the DCA making it to 20, it’s worth bearing in mind, as Katrina Brown describes, “these institutions are independent, they’re not city authorities or national institutions. They’re independent companies with massive fundraising targets and fragile bases.” Brown describes visiting Dundee regularly and the success of the programme, including the recent shows by Lorna McIntyre and Margaret Salmon that the gallery’s current Head of Exhibitions also mentions proudly. As the DCA continues to produce consistently high-quality output, it could be easy to miss the hard graft it takes to continue producing the exhibitions and content that it does.

That’s especially the case in the current climate of arts funding. Brown says: “We know there’s been a massive erosion of budgets available for exhibition programmes. These things are really precious. So many people will talk about shows they saw [at DCA] as students or at school, and they’re working in the arts now.” Brown lists off some prolific arts professionals and artists who all at a formative stage had DCA “as their local gallery.” For her, these institutions as “important” as they are “fragile”. “In that intervening 20 years, anything that’s free seems weird now. Everything is monetised now.” There’s something integral for Brown about “going into a gallery for free, and you can spend two minutes or two hours there. There are some people that don’t understand that, and they just think it’s weird. Anniversary celebrations are always just a reminder about what’s good about something, why it matters and why we still go and care about it. It’s a useful, invaluable thing for any city to have a space like DCA.” dca.org.uk

Scott Myles, Elba

DCA Print Studio

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LE Y ST FE LI

Fascism at Home As Brazil elected right wing Jair Bolsonaro as their new leader, one writer looked on from Scotland at the rise of fascism in his home country

n my first day of high school, back in Brazil, the talk was that a new kid joining our class was a neo-Nazi. He was small and skinny, with a shaved head and oversized steel-toe boots. Soon enough, we all got to witness his contributions in history class which always included some reference to his 100% European heritage (though he had never actually left the country himself). I don’t even remember being that angry at him, just curious at how any Latin American person could do the mental gymnastics to also be a Nazi. Since then, Brazilian blends of fascism have become a less peculiar commodity. The election of Jair Bolsonaro in 2018, much like Trump’s in the US, has become a gateway for fringe right wing ideology to take centre stage in Brazilian politics. Amongst Bolsonaro’s many deranged declarations, he vowed to sell as much Amazonian land as possible, decrease accountability of police officers, remove sex and LGBTQ+ education from public schools and terminate social programmes supporting some of the poorest in the country. Besides policy bullet points, Bolsonaro was often seen proclaiming his slogan that “good criminals are dead criminals.” He was once caught on video telling a congresswoman that she was not worthy of being raped by him. He defended torture, dictatorship, shoot-to-kill policies, police brutality and mass incarceration. Personally, I did not think he was going to win. Though I’ve been in Scotland for the last 12 years, I always took a certain kind of pride in having seen life in some of Brazil’s toughest places back in São Paulo. Being the fourth most unequal country in the world in terms of income inequality, yet one of its strongest economies, Brazil is a land that encompasses some of the richest and

the poorest people on Earth – and though some opinions and circumstances may differ, I’ve always had the feeling that the people around me knew we were all in the less fortunate group. In a country with this shared understanding of oppression and solidarity, how could we ever willingly side with a candidate so clearly playing for the other team? The first warning sign came early and loudly. WhatsApp became a key battleground of the elections: its easily shareable attachments meant that every family conversation via the app turned into a shouting match of content designed to prove the other side wrong or just simply annoy them. The first of these shared in my family group chat came from my aunt. It was an audio recording of a poem. The narrator paints a picture of what the country would look like if the left won the election and Bolsonaro lost. He terrorised: “Imagine the day after the election. Street parties are filled with LGBT groups, Feminists, Unions, Landless Movements and Marxists. They’re all celebrating. They’re all laughing at you.” I tried to figure out why I found this sentence so funny – God, do I wish a party like that would actually happen! If anything, he’s made me more hopeful by describing what I think is an aspirational vision of the future. But amusement soon made space for dread as I realised my aunt shared the audio because this vision did terrorise her. This revelation shook a bigger foundation in my understanding of Brazil than I expected. This side of the family is not the usual choir pseudodictators like Bolsonaro can preach to. They are working-class, mixed-race people who raised me

with warnings of Brazil’s many dictatorships and abuses of power. Together we swapped stories of police overreach and commiserated on the poverty and violence so often happening at our doorstep. Now, the shared solidarity I had assumed was nowhere to be seen. Eventually, the WhatsApp messages became altogether more surreal. As the debate reached a Brexit-like fever pitch, Bolsonaro was elected President. Looking back, my family was not a one-off. Many demographics you’d never expect voted against their own interests and elected the new president. I angrily got back on WhatsApp and with a trigger-happy index finger, blamed anyone who’d dare get in touch for throwing our country back into the hands of dictators and making life so difficult for so many. I genuinely think I lost some friends by doing this, which, I reluctantly admit, felt great. São Paulo overwhelmingly voted for Bolsonaro, and what had previously felt to me like nostalgia for a country of underdogs making the best out of impossible situations, now feels like everything I ever mistook for safe has been corrupted. In the tumultuous few days after the election, I thought back about the first person I had ever met who subscribed to ideals similar to Bolsonaro: the neo-Nazi kid in school. In one particular history class he was chiming in a little more than usual. The tenaciously calm teacher finally seemed frustrated and before moving on to a different topic, responded: “That’s fine if this is the side you want to argue for, but I would just ask you to do something before you commit to it. Go over to Europe. Visit Germany. If you can walk

Demonstration against presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro in Porto Alegre, Brazil, 29 September 2018

Lifestyle

INTERSECTIONS

Photo: Caco Argemi

Words: Sam Gonçalves

out of their airport there without changing your mind, then go right ahead and don’t listen to my objections.” We were confused at the time, but a few years later my classmate did go travelling in Germany and on the day he arrived, he updated his Facebook status about how, at the airport immigration control, his documents described him as Latin American/Mixed Race. In Brazil, he and everyone else identified him as white, but the airport worker saw someone whose family had lived in Brazil for years and who did not have any overpowering Caucasian features.

“ Nostalgia for a country of underdogs now feels like everything I ever mistook for safe has been corrupted” Thinking back to what my teacher said, privilege is central to this issue. It’s often easy to forget the amount of privilege we personally have – to discount it. But it’s way easier to recognise and identify with that privilege, to let it define us. Sure my family are in no way the elite in Brazil, but they are also not the people who will be most hurt by Bolsonaro’s policies. Privilege can shield us from empathy and it takes some key encounters, sometimes at airports, to reframe some assumptions. I carry an even greater privilege than my family living in Brazil. I’m now a dual citizen in a country with excellent free healthcare, education and many other advantages over where I came from. I don’t think my family’s support for Bolsonaro comes from a good place, but the telling thing is, I felt more readily prepared to lose my temper at them than taking time to understand what’s happening in their lives. My privilege shielded my own openness to empathy. Any meaningful assessment of what is happening in Brazil right now requires even the most basic exercise of empathy, specially with those who truly have everything to lose during a presidency like Bolsonaro’s. Though there have been surprising supporters of his policies, the numbers since the election show that the people truly on the edges of the society we’ve built overwhelmingly did not support Bolsonaro – migrants, native-Brazilians, ethnic minorities, working-class women, LGBTQ+ communities and so on. I can choose to look back in self-centered grief or I can look and listen to these voices, out there taking the brunt of it, and follow their charge towards change. Putting empathy on co-pilot is a sure way to forget it, and we are too privileged to be that lazy. I’m sure I’ll eventually make some peace with my family and most of my friends back home – that’s for us to work out. As for the future of my country, now I know to rely on a different authority, one that lives in the frontlines.

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How 'slow dating' took over Are we moving too fast? One writer asks if ‘slow dating’ really is the new speed dating and whether it can absolve us of our online dating anxieties

t’s no secret that young people are starting to turn away from our phone screens and the social media zeitgeist we’re sucked into on a daily basis. Nor is it a rare sight to see scaremongering slogans of cigarette packets reappropriated as phone stickers, captioning our ironic selfies: ‘social media seriously harms your mental health.’ Validated by the newsflash that millennial burnout is indeed a thing (who knew?), is it any wonder we’re turning on airplane mode and taking flight from the digital world? Much to Kylie Jenner’s joy, we’re looking to realise even more stuff in 2019. Namely, that switching off altogether might be better for our mental health than scrolling through a neverending hellfire of content. Nic Newman of the Oxford Internet Institute reckons that “with consumers increasingly conscious of the time they are wasting online, we’ll see more people leaving social networks, more tools for digital detox, and more focus on ‘meaningful’ content.” With revived concerns about our data in the hands of creepy digital overlords and worries about how much time we waste online, it’s clear to see why digital natives are pondering what a life lived offline would look like. As such, the dating landscape is looking to rebrand itself according to emerging technologies and attitudes as part of the ‘slow dating’ trend.

“ Quality over quantity is the new philosophy of the online dating game” While the mere mention of ‘slow dating’ has many imagining the myriad forms speed dating could take if reversed – a never-ending timespan to suffer in small talk without being saved by the bell – it is fast becoming reality as dating apps flock to deliver our collective crisis into the clutches of tech corporations. The question of what slow dating actually involves was what I asked when I went along to a Tinder and Boiler Room collab event last November. Ironically, despite being coined ‘the 411’ for love and dating in Glasgow, no one there (myself included) had a clue what it was trying to be. The closest hint could only be found in studying another lone wanderer, who moved from corner to corner of SWG3, firing through female profiles on Tinder with unsettling intensity. Of course, these swiping sprees are not uncommon, but this sight crystallised my impression that this event simply exposed a general consensus of confusion about the world generally, and our impulse to rapidly swipe left on this stressful realisation. Slow dating is supposedly our salvation, replicating the best things about finding a partner in reality. Apps from Hinge to Happn base their unique appeal on a form of reflecting how we establish romantic connections offline. Combatting our existential concerns of how we connect and communicate now amplified within the world of online dating, they aim to slow the rate at which we find relationships, echoing our increased

April 2019

Words: Liv McMahon Illustration: Jasmine Floyd

desire for ‘meaningful content’ online. Conversations with friends reveal that on closer inspection, there is something discomforting about the rush of swiping to match with as many people as possible on Tinder. While swiping apps speeding up the process of finding potential hook-ups offer a quick and convenient route to casual sex, those hoping for a more established connection are dissatisfied by going through the motions of swiping. “It’s always better to slow things down than go too full steam ahead,” states a friend who’s found herself immune to Tinder’s charms for this reason. Similarly, the Oxford Internet Institute recently found in a study with dating site, eHarmony, that us single Brits actually have a ‘dating capacity’ – only engaging with around half of our matches on a weekly basis. So, with the rise in apps helping us to connect at a human, rather than technological, pace online, it’s easy to see why Tinder is fending off competition from Hinge, Happn, Bumble and Once. These alternative apps are aligned in their efforts to reduce the overwhelming amount of options we’re inundated with in the day-to-day cacophony of consumerist activity. Quality over quantity is the new philosophy of the online dating game, with each app telling us its respective algorithm can keep us afloat and active in who we choose to engage with, stopping us sinking beneath a bottomless pit of profiles and conversations instigated (and often ended with) trashy one-liners. Hinge hooks you up with those you share Facebook friends with, creating an easier way of meeting someone you at least share something more solid with than a mutual dislike of cats. Bumble integrated zodiac filters to allow spiritually-minded users to cancel out incompatible star signs, letting us forgo fire signs or dip our toes into a pool of water signs. According to a press release from Bumble’s chief brand officer, Alex Williamson, this controversial move took the aim of “creating a more personalised experience for users, and hopefully makes starting a conversation with someone just a little bit easier.” Meanwhile, Once and Happn predicate their appeal on the romanticised notion of stumbling across someone we feel attracted to in the street (and finding them shortly after on Happn), or falling in love or lust with someone at first sight (with Once, both users experience matches simultaneously in real-time). But as we brush off Facebook’s desperation to dissuade users leaving the platform after revealing Mark Zuckerberg as the IRL Voldemort of Silicon Valley, are we convinced by this wave of initiatives adopting a pretence of corporate care and responsibility? Let’s not forget that these sites share the common denominator of putting the data in dating, and, like Facebook, can easily make a profit selling our data by the millions. At the end of the day, there remains the debate of whether algorithms pre-empting human behaviour are determining mainstream dating as a monogamous, oversimplified and discriminatory place to be. The increase in apps hoping to mimic that sensation of meeting someone face-to-face as a slow-point in a turning world might mean such nuance is sacrificed. So where does this leave us? I guess all we can do in the meantime, other than placing our overused index finger on this issue, is take a deep breath and open the next shiny new app to find out.

INTERSECTIONS

Lifestyle

Living in Vancouver: A Guide From where to live and how to get around to the city’s unique herbal aroma, one writer reflects on life in the Canadian west coast city of Vancouver

Words: Ciara O’Brien

here were many things I was wrong about before moving to Vancouver: how beautiful the city is (much more beautiful than I ever imagined), how fit I’d get, how quickly I would be putting ‘eh!’ at the end of every sentence. There were things I was right about, however: how diverse the city is, and how much having actual seasons can change the activities you partake in throughout the year.

Jobs: Where to find them, and what to expect Nestled in between mountains and beaches, with both close enough that you can visit them on the same day, it’s unsurprising that the expat network is large, lively and thriving. Thanks, in part, to the country’s Working Holiday Visa but also as a result of the positive reflections sent home by many people that chose to create a life for themselves in this nirvana. In my experience, the job hunt is the most anxiety-inducing part of moving anywhere new, but fortunately, Vancouver has jobs in abundance. That being said, application and interview processes can take a long time so if you’re looking for something quick when you land, keep an eye on the windows of shops and bars. Remember to take into account that a new location means different names for roles and different responsibilities expected than you might be used to, so make sure you do your research before applying and getting to interview.

here make sure you have plenty of money ‘saved for a rainy day’ because there’ll be plenty of those. The search for a decent place to live, in an area you like, within your budget can be demoralising, time-consuming and just plain torture after a while so it’s important not to be under too much time pressure. The house hunt has been known to cause people to explode... or worse, settle for something they don’t really like. The first step is to suss out the neighbourhoods. Each has a distinct personality and typical dweller so we’d definitely advise taking a walk around any areas you’re interested in and checking out the vibe. Kitsilano is close to the beach and emanates a Californian vibe during the summer with several pretty bougie places to eat and drink; East Van is on the much more chill, hipster end of the scale where you have an abundance of breweries right on your doorstep. The West End is popular for its convenience; it’s right downtown so will put your commuting time at a sleek 15 minutes max. There are a lot of expats and out-of-towners in the West End so if you want to do plenty of socialising, this is the

Photo: Rachael Hood

Accommodation: Where to live Vancouver is an expensive city so when you get

Photo: Rachael Hood

Vancouver: One of the World’s Most Liveable Cities The greater Vancouver area is home to more than 2.4 million people, making it the third largest metropolitan area in Canada behind Toronto and Montreal. It has consistently been named as one of the top worldwide cities for livability and quality of life, and has also been acknowledged as the first city to rank among the top ten of the world’s most well-living cities for five consecutive years. Vancouver is the most beautifully diverse city I have ever been in. Travel from one neighbourhood to another and you will feel like you’ve travelled across the country. No matter who you are and from what walk of life, Vancouver welcomes everyone with open arms. If you want to go to the nudist beach everyday, if you only work so you can fund your dream of becoming a professional mountain biker, if you just want to live your best life in one of the most liberal cities in the world – this is the place for you.

Lifestyle

place to be. There are so many neighbourhoods to choose from across the city and surrounding areas, but the trick is to test them all out before committing to any. My one piece of advice is not to stress and settle for somewhere you don’t really like. It’s better to take the time and find a place you really love. Many apartment blocks don’t bother advertising online, they just put up signs outside their complexes – so you could get lucky and find an area and a house you love all at once! Once you’ve decided on the location you can then figure out your budget – the average rent varies but generally you can expect to pay somewhere between $800 to $900 a month for a single person in one of these neighbourhoods. Getting Around: Cycling, driving and public transport As someone from a country where the bus could come in three minutes or thirty but no one is quite sure which, I can confirm that transportation is phenomenal here. There are two main forms of transport, namely the SkyTrain – the driverless train network that’s a bit like the London Underground, in the sky – and the bus network. As much as everyone complains about them, they are reliable, punctual and clean 90% of the time. There are also many car sharing options throughout the city which are incredibly handy, if slightly more expensive. When you’re in need they work like a dream though; there’s usually a bookable car nearby to snap up via an app. Both Evo and Car2Go are perfect for downtown commuting or your grocery shopping run, whereas if you’re planning on going on a day trip to the mountains, Modo is your best bet. Modo have bigger cars so you can fit more people in, but they also have appropriate tires for any rough terrain you’re likely to run into. Despite all of these options I am yet to find a mode of transport that gets me anywhere as fast as cycling does; this city is truly made for it. After a

TRAVEL

year I am yet to cycle a route that didn’t have a dedicated cycle lane for at least 50% of it. It can be a sweaty way to get somewhere in the height of summer but drivers are cognisant and tolerant of cyclists, plus it’s cheap *and* good for you. Dear Green Place: Health food, outdoor activities... and legal weed When I landed I noticed a distinct smell throughout the city that, over time, I came to know as ‘the smell of Vancouver’ and now I don’t even notice it. It’s weed, pot, the green stuff, skunk, hash, marijuana. Whatever you call it, just like the vegan eateries, it’s everywhere. It was finally legalised in October of 2018 and, to be honest, not much has changed since then. Some shops have had to close pending a license but there has not been a change in the liberal attitude towards smoking. There are shops everywhere, and smoking weed on your commute is looked upon much more favourably than smoking a tobacco cigarette. Before arriving I convinced myself that because Vancouver was known for being a city preoccupied with being fit and healthy that I would swan off the plane 20 pounds lighter and instantly able to run a marathon. Shockingly, this did not happen. Vancouver is definitely health conscious – you can’t go far without coming across a boutique fitness studio or a vegan restaurant but, unfortunately, health and fitness doesn’t happen through osmosis. Just like home, you make a conscious decision to be as healthy as you like. Unlike in the UK, the emphasis on being the picture of 360 degree health and the proximity to both the beach and the mountains mean that a lot of social life revolves around skiing in winter and swimming in summer. I still haven’t given up the beer, though, and the brewery scene here – the city is home to dozens of craft breweries across the metro area – means I probably won’t for a while. Read more of our guides to life in some of the world’s best cities at theskinny.co.uk/travel/living-abroad

THE SKINNY

April 2019

Lifestyle

THE SKINNY

Some Tea, Some Shade We gather around the kettle to try out a litany of teas from across the spectrum – be warned, the following article contains frank discussion of the colour of urine

nice cup of tea; it should be comforting, warming, and a very particular shade of brown in accordance with your own personal foibles. Yet every so often, it’s important to look beyond the enormous box of teabags to the smaller, more colourful boxes of teabags that promise new sensations of colour and odour, and something to sip on all day without giving yourself a caffeine overdose. Yes, it’s tea time! Our frankly-too-big team of tasters are grading these teas on four criteria – colour, aroma, taste and drinkability – and we begin with an easy trio that won’t spark any controversy. Yogi Tea Women’s Tea, Men’s Tea and Classic Tea (which we assume is for all tea-drinkers). Let’s start with the Classic: on the colour front, it pours a little like a watered-down Irn-Bru. It doesn’t smell of all that much at all; we were promised cinnamon, cardamom and ginger, and we aren’t getting much of any of them. Taste-wise, it’s a pretty plain cuppa with a little bit of spice at the end. A pretty uninspiring start. Next up, the Women’s Tea, which is the colour of, ahem, “unhealthy, dehydrated pee.” The Men’s, on the other hand, looks less appealing but like a healthier stream of wee, so… swings and roundabouts, we suppose. Aroma notes next, and the Women’s Tea “smells like a swimming pool.” There are hints of menthol, and the chamomile comes through strongly. The Men’s Tea “smells like Christmas, but not in a good way.” It has something of a dank, musty aroma to it, like a bag of compost. Next on the agenda are a trio of teas from Pukka with fancy labels and intriguing flavour combinations. None of them are overtly gendered either, which was nice to see. First up, the Elderberry and Echinacea. Colour-wise, it’s a

April 2019

strong effort, pouring to a nice pink not dissimilar to a good glass of rosé. We’re getting hints of Ribena, berries with large parts of the hedge still attached and a very particular sense memory of the Editor-in-Chief ’s grandmother’s garden in the 1980s. Your results may vary, but overall this is a nice smelling cuppa. In terms of taste though, slightly disappointing.

“ The Men’s Tea ‘smells like Christmas, but not in a good way’” If the Elderberry number looks like a chilled glass of rosé, Pukka’s Licorice and Cinnamon pours like a bootleg cocktail of Newcastle Brown and Bovril. It smells of damp wood and chocolate. Give it a sip, though, and things pick up. It’s sweet, smooth and packed with a whole load of flavours. One taster’s mouth has filled with saliva, another compares it positively to Corsodyl mouthwash. It’s a complex, multifarious hit that we would absolutely drink again. The Three Mint tea is a refreshing stopover, as we know where we are with a mint tea. The flavour of this one split opinion, but that was down to the fact that half the room already doesn’t particularly like mint tea. Those who do would have this one again, those who don’t would not. Take from that what you will. Now let’s get back to comparing these teas to urine! Clipper’s Green Tea with Lemon looks

like “standard” pee, and smells like a liquid Halls Soother. Unfortunately, it tastes of bugger-all, so we won’t waste much longer on it. The other Clipper representative is the Raspberry Leaf infusion, and Christ alive that’s a red cup of tea. The colour is a bit of a shock on first glance, like something out of a particularly sedate horror film. The aroma is cracking as well, and evocative of childhood parties with raspberry jelly, or a nice fruit cider if you’re the one overseeing the party. Taste-wise it delivers, in that it meets the ‘sweet and floral but not overpowering’ standard by which we all judge a herbal tea. Yeah, we could drink this again. We could also get used to Sainsbury’s Blackberry, Apple, Beetroot & Ginger tea. It’s a very nice colour – it turns out that, in The Skinny office, we’re very impressed by bright shades of red – and sports an aroma that’s fantastically sweet but also faintly reminiscent of Play-Doh. The flavour is a classic fruit tea vibe, with an earthy and slightly weird undertone from the beetroot. Imagine drinking an entire beetroot salad, dressing and all, and you get the idea. OK, we’re getting towards the end and oh my fuck what is that. It’s the Twinings Turmeric Superblend with Star Anise and Ginger, and it looks like the flattest glass of Berocca you’ve ever seen. Paint a door this shade of yellow and you’ll be the envy of every other work-from-home graphic designer on the block. On the urine scale, this is ‘proceed directly to the hospital’. Just draw the mug to your nose… “Oh fuck!” comes the cry. Luckily, the bark is much worse than the bite, as this stuff basically just reminds us of that classic playground thirst-quencher, the Kwenchy Kup. The Masala Chai from Tea India is a cracker though. Visually it’s a rich, murk-free brown, and

FOOD AND DRINK

Words: Peter Simpson Illustration: Kaitlin Mechan it has a nice, generally warm aroma to it. There’s a well-rounded spiciness to it, and we could definitely imagine it replacing our usual teabag on occasion if we were feeling particularly decadent. And that just leaves one challenger remaining. Having been through the herbal, the fruity, the faintly terrifying and the actually-notbad, we step into the nonsensical. Tea granules. PG Tips have produced tea granules. Granules. Why? If there’s one thing we’ve learned from this experience, it’s that there’s a joy in letting a cup of tea brew, and wondering what culinary sensation waits at the other end. With these granules, that’s all gone – simply stab the teaspoon through the foil, kick up a cloud of tiny tea particles, choke, regain your composure, shovel out a spoonful into your cup and watch the saddest cup of tea come to life. It has basically no aroma. Taste: “It’s weird that something dissolved in water is waterier than a normal cup of tea.” Drink it again? We’d rather huff on that tea cloud from earlier in the paragraph. So what’s our verdict? Of the twelve teas we tried out, three stood out as both looking and tasting good (the Masala Chai, the Licorice and Cinnamon, and the one with the beetroot in it). There isn’t a whole load of correlation between a nice smell and a solid flavour, but there is one link that is pretty clear. It’s the one we’ve always known about – the colour. Basically, all good cups of tea, be they herbal, fruity or actual, sit somewhere on the red-brown bit of the colour chart. If your cuppa is anywhere on that spectrum, you’re in for a treat. If it looks like urine of any kind… well… it seems obvious when you think about it. theskinny.co.uk/food

Lifestyle

Supper Club by Nico

New Openings This month, check out delightfully restored pubs, experimental supper clubs and piles of barbecued meat Korean BBQ It’s always good to know where you stand with a venue, and Korean BBQ does what it says on the massive, golden sign outside. Their spot in Tollcross is a great place to practise your meatgrilling technique while getting stuck into some tasty fermented sides and super-crisp Korean beer, and now they’re expanding to a second location on the other side of town. Bring a big appetite, be prepared to smell of gochujang and barbecued red meat for the next few days. 6-8 Salisbury Pl, Edinburgh; daochef.com Pomegranate Express The latest sibling of Hanam’s and Pomegranate, this Express venture is a chilled-out take on Middle Eastern cuisine. That means oodles of mezze, various configurations of flatbread and another

BYOB option right next to Edinburgh Uni and the Festival Theatre. Frankly, that all sounds good to us. 12 Nicholson St, Edinburgh; pom-express.com The Thornwood Lovely tiles adorning the facade! Original fixtures, refurbed to their former glory! A big red neon sign that says ‘No Bams’! The Partick pub – one of Glasgow’s first Art Deco bars – has had a big ol’ refit and the results look pretty lovely to us. Expect a tasty range of beers and a frankly impressive line-up of different kinds of macaroni cheese, while you gawp at all the lovely ceramics and polished brass. 724 Dumbarton Rd, Glasgow, instagram.com/thethornwoodglasgow Supper Club by Nico The latest culinary adventure from Nico Simeone,

Supper Club plans to offer a range of ten-course tasting menus aimed at the serious foodies of Glasgow’s Southside. The plan is to kick off from the existing Six by Nico concept of themed tasting menus and go a little bit all-out – this means pig’s heads, caviar, well-aged cheeses and incredibly interesting desserts. It also, apparently, means “a restaurant without walls”, although we believe this to be non-literal as it’s in an actual building. We can’t be sure though… 142 Nithsdale Rd, Glasgow; supperclubglasgow.co Civic House Kitchen The set-up is simple – Civic House Kitchen serve one freshly-cooked vegan dish each lunchtime, for a fiver. Expect curries, soups and other hearty lunchtime staples. Part of the creative hub at Speirs Locks, the Kitchen also hosts regular

Words: Peter Simpson cooking workshops, and sessions on food production and how to make the most of local, seasonal produce. Their Instagram is the place to find out what’s on the menu. 26 Civic St, Glasgow, open Tue-Fri; instagram.com/civichousekitchen St Andrews Brewing Co. Caird Hall With a direct view of the V&A from the front door (until someone decides to build something in the way), the latest bar from the St Andrews Brewing Co is in a great location for design fans in need of a pint / somewhere to escape the hilariously strong winds down by the waterfront. St Andrews Brewing’s other bars across Scotland have impressed us when we’ve been in, so this looks like being a good addition to Dundee’s drinking scene. 2-3 Shore Terrace, Dundee; facebook.com/ StAndrewsBrewCoCairdHall/

Chews Bulletin Our food events round-up features a host of vegan food festivals, a smattering of live music and a whole heap of science Words: Peter Simpson

e begin this month with our favourite culinary anthropologists KÜCHE, who celebrate the food culture of Japan in Art of Cooking. The event will look at the multi-sensory nature of the country’s cuisine, and the importance of the visual in Japanese food culture. 5 Apr, 7.30pm; MILK, 452 Victoria Rd, Glasgow; £18.50, tickets via tabl.com Speaking of food with a strong visual component, sweets! Bonbon – The Sweet Treats Festival brings together a host of Scotland’s confectioners, chocolatiers and other dessertpeddlers for an afternoon of extremely sugary browsing. 7 Apr from 11am; The Hub, Castlehill, Edinburgh; £6, tickets via itison.com Meanwhile, at the other end of the Central Belt there’s a very different opportunity to find yourself some new treats. My Big Fat Vegan Market is not the latest reality show from Netflix; rather, it’s a chance to peruse a whole host of vegan comfort food. Cakes! Pies! Cheeses! Chocolate! It’s all here, and there aren’t any animals involved! 7 Apr from 11am; The Briggait, 141 Bridgegate, Glasgow; £3, tickets via Eventbrite Staying in Glasgow, the newly-opened Civic House Kitchen are marking their arrival with a whirlwind of community-minded events. The Kitchen are hosting free Friday lunchtime gigs throughout April, kicking off with Jessica Higgins of Vital Idles on 5 April and continuing with Robert Sotelo (Order of the Toad), Dioya and Irma Vep. The gigs kick off at 1pm and are free to all. If you’re more inclined towards making than watching, head to Civic House’s Saturday School for a Civic House Kitchen workshop on how to knock together tasty and easy vegan dishes. 13 Apr, 1-3pm; 26 Civic House, Glasgow; free, tickets via Eventbrite Back in Edinburgh, there are a pair of vegan festivals to compare and contrast. The Scottish

Lifestyle

Vegan Festival (7 Apr) has a big venue – the Corn Exchange – and promises the chance to check out a host of vegan suppliers as well as catching some demos and workshops. The Edinburgh Vegan Festival (21 Apr), on the other hand, has a slightly bigger venue – Murrayfield Stadium – and promises the chance to check out a host of vegan suppliers as well as catching some demos and workshops. Just go for the one that best suits your diary, we suppose? Next up, science! Edinburgh Science Festival returns this month, and as usual there’s a host of food-adjacent events on the bill. We’re particularly intrigued by The Science of the Sesh, not least because it has the word ‘sesh’ in the title. Wahey, lads lads lads, etc. It’s an evening of cocktail history, boozy experimentation and tasty drinks, so we’re on board. 6 Apr, 7.30pm; Summerhall, Edinburgh; £28, tickets via sciencefestival.co.uk Also piquing our interest is Spice of Life, which takes a look at the various scientific claims made for certain spices, and assesses the level to which those claims are horseshit (12 Apr, 8pm; Pleasance, Edinburgh; £10-12, tickets via sciencefestival.co.uk). Oh, and Cheeseology – the Science Festival’s annual exploration of the science of cheese – returns for a fourth year. What new cheese facts await? Only one way to find out! 6 Apr, 8pm and 7 Apr, 2pm; Pleasance; £15, tickets via sciencefestival.co.uk And finally this month, it’s the return of Paisley Food and Drink Festival. The 2019 edition of the festival will feature more than 30 traders and vendors, plus a dedicated vegan area and a beer tent from CAMRA. Also, most of this is outdoors – either that’s very ambitious, or this ‘summer’ we’ve been hearing about is just around the corner. 26-27 Apr, full details at paisley.is

Paisley Food and Drink Festival

theskinny.co.uk/food Spice of Life

FOOD AND DRINK

THE SKINNY

April 2019

THE SKINNY

RE V IE W

Sci-Fi-Hi-Fi Seven years after the dissolution of Zoey Van Goey, musician and academic Matt Brennan returns with a hugely ambitious solo debut as Citizen Bravo

bered indie-pop outfit Zoey Van Goey up until their dissolution in 2012, where he achieved the twin Glaswegian stamps of approval of putting out two albums on Chemikal Underground and having one of them produced by Stuart Murdoch of Belle & Sebastian. He popped up in Murdoch’s film God Help the Girl, too, playing drums in Emily Browning’s titular band on screen and on the accompanying soundtrack. Since his old band quietly fizzled out, though, Brennan’s pursuits became more scholarly, with his own music taking a backseat for a while. He is dizzyingly knowledgable about music; a simple attempt to explain what he’d been up to in the years following Zoey Van Goey’s disbandment suddenly veers off into discussion of his fascination with one-man bands – “back from when I was researching the history of the drum kit for my day job.” The songs that make up Build a Thing of Beauty originated when he built a sort of scrapmetal percussive Swiss army knife with an artisan blacksmith from Arkansas, but the idea to combine his personal musical pursuits with his academic work didn’t come to him until later. “This is definitely the first time I’ve explicitly tried to combine art and research into some kind of experiment, and deliberately fused them,” he explains. “It came out of me still wanting to make music, but having no idea how to release it, and also of having to ask the question of what form it might take if I could. If I pressed it on vinyl, would that be a disastrous financial decision? Would cassette tapes be a good idea, now that they’re making a comeback in indie circles? How many people still own tape decks? Is it still worth making CDs?” In the end, Brennan opted against all of those; typically, it’s something he’s already researched, having looked at the sustainability of

music festivals and their environmental impact. Instead, he chose to make Build a Thing of Beauty available exclusively digitally, although he hopes the sheer scale of the project will speak for itself; between the album, the sculpture and the short documentary, The Cost of Music, that will accompany the release, he’s bringing a whole new meaning to the idea of a concept album. “I think the release of the record has a conceptual element to it, for sure,” he says. “I’m asking people, rather than take something home with them and play it, to invest their time in recorded music as performance and come out to an event. I’d been looking at photographs from the 19th century of people staring at phonograph cylinders, and for a lot of those people, that would’ve been the first time they’d ever heard recorded music in their lives. “Even though the pictures are grainy, you can still see their fascination and astonishment, how wide-eyed they are. We take that for granted in the 21st century, and I wanted to see if I could get back to making music seem miraculous like that. If I couldn’t do that with the songs – which I can’t, because I have limitations as a musician – then maybe I could by creating this sculpture that would approximate that feeling of piquing people’s curiosity.” Inevitably, the wide-ranging nature of the project came to help shape the musical decisions thet Brennan made across Build a Thing of Beauty. “Some of these songs are five years old or more, and back then, I didn’t have this in mind yet. By the end of the project, I absolutely knew how I was going to release it, so that absolutely informed not just some of the lyrics, but also the fact that I was starting to play around with sampling old cylinder recordings. Building those different formats into the compositional process

Photo: Graeme O'Hara

n making his first solo record, Matt Brennan has not done things by halves. In fact, that’s putting it mildly; Build a Thing of Beauty is less an album and more an entire body of work unto itself. It’s not just that the songs themselves run through a hugely diverse range of touchpoints, with the record taking in melodic indie rock, measured balladry and, on the wildly eccentric The Mystery of History, electronic experimentalism. It’s that the entire project effectively encompasses Brennan’s latest academic study; he’s a Reader in Popular Music at the University of Glasgow. The album will be available on streaming services only; as Brennan investigates the worth of music in the digital age, he’s chosen to eschew physical formats, with one big exception – literally big. He’s built a sculpture he calls the Sci-Fi-Hi-Fi, which looks a little bit like what a Dalek might if they’d been built to play music rather than exterminate. Seven different sonic mediums, which span the history of recorded music, have been cobbled onto each other; accordingly, the Sci-Fi-Hi-Fi will be able to play back Build a Thing of Beauty via cassette tape, compact disc, 33rpm LP, 78rpm LP, Edison wax cylinder, MP3 and through streaming from the cloud. It’s not without its own artistic merit as a structure, either; it’s a weirdly handsome beast, a sort of futuristic steampunk contraption that Rick Deckard might have had in the front room of his apartment in Blade Runner. When the Sci-Fi-Hi-Fi is unveiled at the University of Glasgow’s Concert Hall this month, it’ll bring to its natural conclusion a highly ambitious project that seems to have come together by equal parts design and chance. Glasgow seems as if it must have felt like a spiritual hometown for Brennan even before he moved there from his native Canada; he played in the fondly-remem-

Interview: Joe Goggins

April 2019

Music

was definitely something I was doing by the time the project was at a more advanced stage. The first track, for instance – the reason that’s only two minutes long is because that’s all you can fit on a cylinder.”

“ In my 20s, what excited me about being a musician was touring around Europe in a van... Now, I’m more interested in whether I can get a crazy sculpture in a van and to a public library in Cornwall” Matt Brennan

It helped, too, that Brennan’s straddling of two musical worlds – one academic, the other the Glasgow music scene he’s come to know so well – meant that he was well-connected on both sides; he could call in the likes of Andy Monaghan of Frightened Rabbit to help handle production duties, but also track down collaborators like Duncan Miller of Vulcan Records in Sheffield, one of the few places in the country still producing 78rpm records, or Owen Green at the University of Huddersfield, a creative coder who has helped with some of the digital formats. Ultimately, though, Build a Thing of Beauty is very much Brennan’s own doing – the ideas at the heart of it were his own, and will help mark him out as a musical maverick who’s produced something that will have long-lasting importance. “I’m writing the article just now,” he says, “so that’s one part of the life that the record will go on to have, an actual study about how much people have been historically willing to pay for recorded music and how that has changed over time. Beyond that, I don’t want to tour it like a normal record – I want to tour the ideas, so that could be a live performance, or it could just be me dropping a needle on a phonograph. The less traditional those methods are, the more interesting they are to me. In my 20s, what excited me about being a musician was touring around Europe in a van, playing in bars. Now, I’m more interested in whether I can get a crazy sculpture in a van and to a public library in Cornwall so that I can start some interesting discussions!” Build a Thing of Beauty is released on 5 Apr via Chemikal Underground Citizen Bravo’s Sci-Fi-Hi-Fi is on display at the University of Glasgow’s Concert Hall, 11 Apr; Monorail Records, Glasgow, 14 Apr citizenbravo.com

Review

Art Action We catch up with False Bliss at Edinburgh’s Skylight for a novel listening party ahead of the release of their upcoming album Ritual Terrains

Interview: James Ewen

David MacDonald

Presently, the band is a far cry from its point of origin as frontman Alastair Chivers’ solo project DTHPDL; genre evolutions and personnel additions have transformed them into False Bliss – a name conjured by bassist and former City of Glass commandant David MacDonald his lasting legacy to the group before he ships off for Canadian pastures in the summer. Using their own album as inspiration to

create something new makes them simultaneously artist and muse. The listening party with a difference was masterminded by Laidler as an opportunity for the band to listen, respond and add to their existing fruits. “I’m interested in combining all the recordings and removing the album from it to see if I can still determine where in the album we are.” As screeching reverb duels with a jewellery-box twinkle of Zorba the Greek, knowing where the day will rove on the sonic spectrum would be utter guesstimation. Layering the live event’s sound upon the studio output highlights the band’s duality between the meticulous and the spontaneous. When recording, Laidler was propelled to deliver a “cohesive” and “endless” audial experience, rich in nuance and texture, and designed to be played from end to end, and round again. This is mirrored by the structure of the day, which plays the album on loop (four times in total) giving each member their own time at the helm. Laidler adds that so much of his work with soundscapes on the album was bred out of necessity to stand up to Muir’s “bold, full and driving” guitar work – everything else had to be sculpted around it. Where Laidler and Muir are the musical bones, Chivers and MacDonald provide the thematical meat. Across the board, the band concur

These New Puritans @ SWG3, Glasgow, 11 Apr Twin brothers Jack and George Barnett have come a long way since releasing the insanely catchy singles Numerology and Elvis, taken from their 2008 debut Beat Pyramid. Their fourth studio album, and first since 2013’s highly-acclaimed Field of Reeds, Inside the Rose came out towards the end of March on Infectious Music and sees the Southend-on-Sea band’s sound evolving yet again into something altogether more moody and atmospheric. Catch them tonight at Glasgow’s SWG3.

Review

Photo: Harley Weir

These New Puritans

Adam Stafford

Photo: Iona Spence

Do Not Miss

Adam Stafford: The Acid Bothy Album Launch @ Leith Depot, Edinburgh, 12 Apr At the end of last year, Adam Stafford announced on Twitter that he’d be quitting music, so imagine our delight when an email landed in our inbox early this year saying he’d had a change of heart and realised that after a tumultuous year he just needed a break from it all. With that came the news of his brand new album, The Acid Bothy, which he’s releasing on a limited run of Fruit Salad coloured cassette tapes. Head down to Leith Depot to see the master of loops tonight and bag yourself one of those snazzy tapes!

that both sides informed each other, with lyrics influencing the quest for field recordings and vice versa. Chivers states that he wanted to make “a record about action” and more specifically “an art action”. This was fuelled by the ebbing state of Edinburgh’s cultural landscape, namely the Save Leith Walk movement and the potential closure of Leith Depot. Ritual Terrains means different things to the four members, and they wish for the listener to kindle their own significance too, but as a flavour. Chivers sees the title as an umbrella for the album’s myriad themes: changing topographies (both natural and urban), immigration, society’s blurred boundaries and art as means to explore possibilities. It’s perhaps the day’s most potent statement that comes from the band’s quietest member, MacDonald: “Art should be a ray of light, offering an alternative path to the one we’re on just now.” The sentiment, coupled with his Tropicanaorange beanie, adds a solar flare of luminance to the space and our times. Having been three years since the release of their EP The Future, Chivers reflects that “life gets in the way” and prevents creative endeavours from materialising as fast as one would hope. Muir is in agreement: “If you don’t have a release or you’re

Record Store Day 2019 with VoxBox @ St Vincent’s Chapel, Edinburgh, 13 Apr Edinburgh vinyl enthusiasts, it’s that time of year again where we get to bow down collectively to the shrine of waxy goodness for our annual Record Store Day gathering in Stockbridge. If you haven’t already seen, the team behind VoxBox’s RSD live music programme are changing things up this year and moving a bit further down the street to St Vincent’s Chapel. Head out early, hit all the record shops in town, being sure to stop off at VoxBox, then pop round the corner for live music from Aidan Moffat & RM Hubbert and SHHE, with more TBA. And don’t worry, there’s a bar in there. Panic over.

Music

Aidan Moffat and RM Hubbert

not active on social media, it looks like you’re doing nothing,” he remarks from under his cap and hoodie combo. “People think you’re a bunch of lazy bastards, but we’re not – we’ve been plugging away a good couple of years at this album.” They see the release of their work as a wave’s crest, which they wish to ride into their next studio stint to maintain their creative momentum. With the departure of MacDonald, the group see this as blessing wrapped up in a loss, as where they wish to travel next is down a sparser and rawer recording route. The day has served as an insight into the band’s idiosyncrasies: Chivers with his bowedhead keyboard scratching, Laidler harnessing the bloom from bare-bulbed lamps to produce otherworldly noise, MacDonald’s freak-out on a wooden sax and Muir’s sampling of the cantankerous old boys from The Muppets. Up close, they exist on their own planes, but when viewed from a distance one can see that together they comprise a vast map with no borders in sight. Ritual Terrains is released on 5 Apr via Scottish Fiction False Bliss play The Cellar, Aberdeen, 4 Apr; Leith Depot, Edinburgh, 5 Apr; The 13th Note, Glasgow, 6 Apr falsebliss.bandcamp.com

A Mote of Dust

A Mote of Dust @ Mono, Glasgow, 12 Apr Formerly of Ganger, Aerogramme and The Unwinding Hours, Craig Beaton, known best as just Craig B, released his sophomore album as A Mote of Dust alongside Graeme Smillie at the start of March. Produced and recorded by Smillie, mixed by Paul Savage and mastered by Jamie Savage at Chem 19, A Mote of Dust II is to be the last from the duo (“after we finished recording Mote II, I listened from start to finish and I knew it should be my last,” Beaton said), so tonight’s show is not to be missed as it acts as both a launch party for the album, but also as a farewell show for the band.

THE SKINNY

Photo: A Mote of Dust

“ Art should be a ray of light, offering an alternative path to the one we’re on just now”

False Bliss

Photo: LUCUSj Photography

n the afternoon of Saturday 9 March, a small cluster of restaurant tables stand in the centre of a room in Edinburgh’s Skylight, strewn with fuzz pedals, toy keyboards, an Oral-B toothbrush, cowbells and more. “We should’ve just had it all in a treasure chest,” opines False Bliss guitarist John Muir with a tone of 11th-hour epiphany. Ah well, next time. The event ahead will see the Edinburghbased four-piece record individual live accompaniments to their studio-fresh new album Ritual Terrains in its entirety, utilising the aforementioned box of tricks, before an audience of friends and industry faces. “Everyone’s been to a listening party,” remarks drummer and producer Christopher Laidler, “but has anyone sat on old pianos and watched someone play a toy saxophone while the album blares in the background?” The event’s yield is to later be released on a limited run of cassettes. Edinburgh’s new art and performance hub, Skylight harbours the event and exists as the answer to the question: what if David Lynch set Twin Peaks in the Greenwich Village folk scene of the 60s? Chesterfield sofas, Persian rugs, bleacher seats made from repurposed pianos and a damn fine cup of coffee on offer.

Photo: David Maitland

Opportunity Knocks Ahead of her appearance at Wide Days’ Showcase in Edinburgh on 12 April, we speak to Megan Airlie about the opportunities an event like Wide Days can offer emerging artists

here’s a buzz around Wide Days this year. Since its launch in 2010, the event has grown in depth and calibre year on year. As the first Scottish event to join the PRS Foundation’s Keychange initiative, which aims for 50/50 gender balance by 2022, in 2014 Wide Days was named Best Networking Event at the Yearly Music Convention Awards, and in the years since it has continued to attract key figures in the music industry, with over 340 registered delegates in

2018, up from 250 the previous year. For those who haven’t heard of Wide Days, it’s basically a big juicy music convention based in Edinburgh where industry professionals come together to chat music and showcase new initiatives. Their aim is to stand out from others of its kind by prioritising diversity and balancing the line-up so that it includes up-and-coming speakers and performers alongside industry stalwarts. As well as a wide-ranging conference

programme, including talks about music publishing, artist promotion and music tourism, the music programme this year is weightier than ever and now includes a new Festival Takeover on Saturday night, curated by three of Scotland’s summer festivals: Electric Fields, Kelburn Garden Party and Tenement Trail. What’s more, their traditional ‘showcase’ programme – which in the past has featured performances from Kathryn Joseph and C Duncan – on Friday night is set to be an absolute treat with performances from Chuchoter, Eyes of Others, Franky’s Evil Party, Parliamo, Shears, VanIves and Megan Airlie, who applied on a bit of a whim and was pleasantly surprised when “for some reason they thought I was quite cool.”

“ Wide Days gives you a chance to rub shoulders with people that you would absolutely never rub shoulders with”

April 2019

Samantha Crain

Airlie, who grew up in East Kilbride and is now settled in Glasgow, originally got into music as a teenager. “I got into a band playing the sax, and then just decided at some point that I would start writing my own stuff, and I haven’t really stopped for the past five or six years,” she tells us, going on to explain how she got into singing: “I was always secretly singing, even when my family took the piss out of me for doing it. But I didn’t start properly pursuing it until I was about 17. And then I just kind of did it at college and haven’t really shut up since.” Although she started out playing in a band, nowadays Airlie plays solo 90% of the time. “I think on the whole I prefer it this way, but it does

Bossy Love

Photo: Amy Muir

Diane Cluck @ St Vincent’s Chapel, Edinburgh, 16 Apr The prolific talent that is Diane Cluck arrives on UK soil this month for a pretty extensive tour which kicks off on 11 April in Bristol and ends on 1 May in Oxford. On 16 April Cluck, who cut her teeth in New York’s Sidewalk Cafe at the turn of the century and describes her sound as “intuitive folk”, is stopping by Edinburgh’s Stockbridge to play in the Episcopalian surrounds of St Vincent’s Chapel. Support comes from Faith Eliott – a more than perfect pairing if you ask us! Cluck also plays Glasgow’s Glad Cafe the following night.

Samantha Crain & Withered Hand @ The East Neuk Hotel, Crail, 18 Apr Head to Crail tonight to catch two wildly talented singer-songwriters – Oklahoma’s Samantha Crain and Edinburgh-based Withered Hand – play The East Neuk Hotel, a venue King Creosote pretty much called home for almost an entire month back in 2017 as he played there 23 nights in a row. Be sure to pop along early for ‘probably the best fish and chips in Britain’ at the Anstruther Fish Bar on the way as it’s just a ten minute drive along the coast from the venue. You’re welcome. Crain also plays with Lucy Rose at Saint Luke’s, Glasgow, 17 April and with Hamish Hawk at Summerhall, Edinburgh, 19 April.

Photo: David McClister

Diane Cluck

Photo: Serena Jae

Megan Airlie

Photo: Beth Chalmers

Megan Airlie

Shuffle Down @ Dobbie Hall, Larbert, 26-27 Apr Shuffle Down festival returns to Larbert’s Dobbie Hall this April with a pretty bloody good line-up. While it is severely lacking in women, we still can’t help but have a big old urge to get our butts to Falkirk for it. The Friday night features a headline turn from Baby Strange while Saturday features performances from one half of Arab Strap, Malcolm Middleton, along with Bossy Love, Callum Easter and Broken Chanter, the solo project from Kid Canaveral’s David MacGregor. Nae bad likes.

Music

depend because there’s definitely a comfort in playing with other people. I suppose I like that I can just completely go off when I’m by myself. I’m also secretly an attention seeker, so I do also want to focus on me. And now I really am starting to enjoy playing by myself and getting to know performing a bit more with no one else to hide behind.” We start chatting about the music scene at the moment and what it’s like to be an up-andcoming musician in a constantly evolving environment. “It’s so saturated these days,” Airlie says. “Everyone’s amazing and everyone’s got a million things they’re putting out. There’s singles out every day, and it’s a bit hard to get spotted in the crowd.” Instead of pushing against the singlesoriented industry of today, Airlie has decided to embrace it. “People’s attention spans are just so terrible these days. If you stick out an album, you’ll probably struggle to get people to listen to it all the way through. With Spotify and all that, you just click the next thing. So singles seem to be the way to go just now, with everyone.” Airlie will be in the recording studio in the weeks before Wide Days, and will be showcasing some of her new material on the Friday night. She explains that, although the industry might be brimming with talent at the moment, “everyone seems mostly genuine and friendly, and events like Wide Days give us an opportunity to help each other out. There’s just a really nice buzz about it. It’s great to jump in and start, what d’you call that, networking? It’s a more official environment than most of the events I go to. You can actually write down people’s emails, and even share a business card or two. “Wide Days gives you a chance to rub shoulders with people that you would absolutely never rub shoulders with,” she continues. “Most musicians, I find, just like to stay in their room the whole time, and only socialise when [they’re] absolutely, well, steaming. So to have everyone in a room at an event like that, it just opens up a whole array of opportunity.” Wide Days: Scotland’s Music Convention takes place in Edinburgh, 11-13 Apr Megan Airlie plays Wide Days’ Showcase, Teviot Debating Hall, Edinburgh, 12 Apr widedays.com facebook.com/MeganAirlieMusic

Mesadorm @ The Hug & Pint, Glasgow, 29 Apr In the past year or so we’ve premiered a couple of tracks from Bristol-formed five-piece Mesadorm, the latest being The Joy It Joins Us Up, a beautiful piano-led ballad featuring the as ever stunning vocals of Blythe Pepino. The single, along with the album it features on, Epicadus, was recorded in St. Peter’s Church in Eype, Dorset, the same church that PJ Harvey recorded Let England Shake in, and is due for release on 12 April. Catch Mesadorm as they do a celebratory lap of the UK, taking in Glasgow’s Hug & Pint tonight.

Mesadorm

Review

Photo: Sarah Cresswell

Interview: Amy Hill

Album of the Month Aldous Harding Designer [4AD, 26 Apr]

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One of the common themes running through much of the press surrounding Aldous Harding’s terrific 2017 record, Party, was that the New Zealander was a little bit of an enigma. Introverted in interviews and inscrutable on record, she produced something that was at once both uncannily familiar and beguiling in its inscrutability, with the lyrics frequently opaque and the melodies peculiarly singular. That reputation worked to her advantage, with fans and critics alike fascinated by her, which might explain why details on this follow-up are in short supply. It was recorded between Bristol, where she cut Party, and Cardiff with John Parish again handling production duties. Designer feels like a subtly different beast to Party, though; there’s more restraint in the instrumentation, with soft percussion and quiet guitars frequently favoured, but the compositions remain eccentric – lead single The Barrel slowly reveals itself as being ever so slightly off-kilter, with its clever vocal layers and faint swells of brass, while stylistic lines are blurred tastefully on Weight of the Planets, which sees a wandering, jazzy bassline sit incongruously neatly next to a simmering synth line. At the centre of it all remains

Listen to: Designer, Weight of the Planets

Faith Eliott

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The news of an eighth Idlewild album, Interview Music, came with the release of its lead single Dream Variations in February and sees the Edinburgh band work once again with producer Dave Eringa. The result is an album that is part spoken word, part spectral indie-rock and shrugs off the weight of four years silence with ease. Interview Music is melodic, adventurous, and full of lyrics which seamlessly drift from carrying the rich weight of human experience and the gossamer-fine tapestry of exploration. Opener Dream Variations sets the tone immediately with a mix of familiarly playful riffs and vocal harmonies, before taking a sudden turn into a cloudbank of drifting melody that coasts unapologetically into strange, miraculous new territory. This is Idlewild, but not as you know them. Alongside its anthems (see Forever New) Interview Music contains a sense of maturity and introspection, infusing the record with a quality that can only come from artists with a defined sense of who they are at their core. In speaking of dreams and the entanglement of our deepest desires with our realities, Idlewild are transcending their indie-punk roots, delivering a universally relatable story that will appeal to staunch fans and new listeners alike. [Hannah Clark] Listen to: Dream Variations, You Wear It Second Hand

Review

Harding’s tremendously versatile voice, which she smartly restrains at some points – such as on the reserved Treasure – and lets off the leash at others: she goes up and down the scales on Damn, whilst her vocals constantly shapeshift on the title track to keep up with the instrumental. On Party and indeed during some of Harding’s live performances, there’s cleverly deployed theatrical flourishes in places and, if anything, she’s even more sparing with them on Designer – which only serves to heighten their power when they do arrive. There is, for instance, something about the sparseness of the closing one-two, Heaven is Empty and Pilot, that serves to underline everything that’s gone before with a sense of discreet drama. Designer is a record entirely in the image of its creator – Harding remains as lyrically oblique as ever, and the idiosyncrasies in her voice remain her calling card – and yet one that strongly recalls Julia Holter’s Have You in My Wilderness or Angel Olsen’s Burn Your Fire for No Witness in how calmly it oozes confidence. [Joe Goggins]

Idlewild

Interview Music [Empty Words, 5 Apr]

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Aldous Harding

The Ninth Wave

Impossible Bodies [OK PAL Records, 19 Apr]

Infancy Part 1 [Distiller Records, 26 Apr]

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Originating in the ancient world, bestiaries were often created by medieval scribes as illustrated tomes documenting various animals and the symbolic significance that they had. Faith Eliott’s debut album Impossible Bodies takes this concept into a very contemporary musical setting that is frequently engaging in its lyricism. The magic of Impossible Bodies is drawn from the images that Eliott weaves in their work. Their words vividly depict the narratives of each animal, as on Grouper where they describe tropical fish that ‘gleam like painted gargoyles propelled by unknowable forces in their mercury hearts’. These observations and tales are often accompanied by more personal reflections. On Lilith, the shedding of skin is both literal and a cipher for identity: ‘And they’ll see that you were never a snake / Just as I was never a woman’. Even when these stories look towards something even greater than fauna, Eliott grounds these tales in experience; Carl Sagan Cosmos Song reflects on the infinity of space but begins with an expression of anxiety. The musical landscape that Eliott’s words lie across makes it even easier to appreciate the worlds crafted across Impossible Bodies. This is a modern kind of bestiary, one whose often splendidly poetic images can also paint intimate portraits of human experience. [Eugenie Johnson] Listen to: Laika, Carl Sagan Cosmos Song

Glasgow’s The Ninth Wave have a history, albeit brief, of defying conventions and as they prepare to release their debut record, again rules are being broken. They’re releasing the album in two parts, with the first this spring. Infancy Part 1’s six songs cover a diverse range of sounds, never settling long enough to fall into one set genre. From goth-pop to post-punk, and tumultuous indie to 80s nostalgia, they avoid staticity as each track fluidly melts a sundry of stylistic influences, culminating a half-record full of true artistic intent.

Citizen Bravo

Build a Thing of Beauty [Chemikal Underground, 5 Apr]

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On Build a Thing of Beauty, Scottish-Canadian Matt Brennan’s so-called “geek pop” is taken to meta-levels by creating music about the history of creating music – crucially, the creation of physical music in all its forms. These ideas will all come together in the work’s physical format: an interactive musical sculpture called SCIRFIRHIRFI, as well as an accompanying documentary, The Cost of Music. While the gimmicky nature of all this threatens to distract from the music, it’s important to note Brennan’s unstoppable willingness to do something extraordinary with

RECORDS

Lyrically, Infancy Part 1 offers a plaintive reflection of modern day life and lost love. From the unsuccessful quest for ‘the pain and the glamour that you were bred for’ to an infatuation and need to ‘keep up appearances’ on A Wave Goodbye To the People Who Said I’d Win, as lyricists Haydn Park-Patterson and Millie Kidd continue to be both poignant and acutely accurate in their depictions. On Infancy Part 1, The Ninth Wave transition from potential up-and-comers to a band that’s finally arriving. The only frustrating concept of this record is the intermission between its two parts, yet even that’s a ballsy move that deserves applause, and, on this showing, Part 2 should be well worth the wait come November. [Dylan Tuck] Listen to: Used To Be Yours, Half Pure

his acquired knowledge. The songs themselves run the gauntlet between the cerebral and the emotive, but it’s ultimately that mid-tempo, present day-Death Cab rock that is employed here, with a few exceptions. The whole project is worth it for the last two tracks alone, though. Stuck Inside of Mobile Phone is genuinely devastating, and Have a Nice Time, perhaps the album’s simplest song, finds Brennan plainly speaking over a gradually building musical accompaniment, telling the story of attending a talk by the legendary Ian MacKaye in Newfoundland. Brennan’s delivery totally sells it, ending the song on a genuinely surprising clip and a heart-warming poignancy that the record deserves to have built up to. [Tony Inglis] Listen to: Build a Thing of Beauty, Stuck Inside of Mobile Phone, Have a Nice Time

THE SKINNY

Photo: Clare Shilland

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Here or Nowhere [Lost Map Records, 5 Apr]

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‘Nothing lasts forever / Well, except the weather’ begins Callum Easter, somehow coupling wryness with gravitas. His much-anticipated debut album Here or Nowhere is infused with a sense of profundity, although half of the time it’s hard to put your finger on where it comes from. His lyrics are at times almost prophetic (‘It’s here or nowhere’, ‘I’ll never be this space and time’), at times achingly vulnerable (‘This world’s getting ugly / Can I see you again?’, ‘I want love / But I need some help / Don’t want nobody else’), and constantly captivating. Easter’s voice has a sort of Paolo-esque suavity to it, but it’s also ardently believable. Throughout the record he is constantly

Adam Stafford

The Acid Bothy [Horsebox Sauna Tapes, 12 Apr]

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Adam Stafford’s The Acid Bothy will be a major slog for any listener seeking anything like 2018’s Fire Behind the Curtain. Instead of a glimmering fount of crystal-clear water, we find an hour-plus of steaming, soupy lo-fi improvisation, recorded

Kinbrae

Landforms [Truant Recordings, 19 Apr]

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Cinematic in vision, Landforms conjures images of the River Tay, its surrounding landscape and unique architecture. Opening track Movement of Light sets the scene and you can visualise the train carriages passing over each rivet of the Tay Rail Bridge that inspires it; Meander is like a morning salutation, its cornet a bright light that comes into and out of focus; Bridge at Night offers a playful contrast between light and dark, capturing the city lights reflecting on the surface of the water. The title of each track functions as a rough guide to what the listener can expect, and although Kinbrae experiment with each composition it’s clear that collectively they belong together, each moment like another movement from the same symphony or tone poem. [Amy Kenyon] Listen to: Meander, The River Awakens

April 2019

re-moulding himself, from upbeat tracks Fall In Love and Be There Always, to darker, more political moments in Plastic In Trees and Make a Move. His instrumentation is also in constant motion, drifting seamlessly between atmospheric synths, offbeat drones, and almost ethereal guitar lines. The album feels like a natural progression from his live shows, where he’s been known to perform only with accordion in hand. Here or Nowhere is the kind of album that you want to actually listen to. It’s not a oncethrough, that was nice, leave-it-at-that kind of album. It’s a stick-around, play it again, keep it in the CD player kind of album. It’s the kind of album that makes you feel like you’re in a film and some really deep shit is going on but you’re not even really sure what it is. All you really know is that it’s fucking brilliant. [Amy Hill] Read an interview with Callum Easter on p.22

Listen to: Space In Time, Fall In Love, Back Beat

direct to mono tape “during a MA-HOOSIVE winter whitey” (in Stafford’s words). But Stafford doesn’t seem as interested in repeating his past as he is wiping it completely; covering it with crisp, white snow. The Acid Bothy confronts, among other things, how an artist brings something new into the world, a cognitive break with what came before, a freshly dealt hand of cards. In other words, it’s the mystery of creation itself. Here’s the listening experience from the ground; you’ve endured roughly 20 minutes of perilously explorative, implausibly rough

PAWS

Stealing Sheep

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Your Church On My Bonfire [Ernest Jenning Record Co., 26 Apr] PAWS have carved themselves a niche yet cult fanbase over their previous three solid albums. Your Church On My Bonfire, their fourth, sees a few necessary changes. Their first not signed to FatCat Records, as well as their new label, PAWS also have a new bassist and sound. Recording this time with Frightened Rabbit’s Andy Monaghan, PAWS have emulated the sound of the sadly departed Scottish act in a similar way they bordered on Blink 182 with their previous record, the Mark Hoppus-produced No Grace. It’s not a huge problem, this cleaner more folk-rock approach suits PAWS well, but it’s somewhat distracting how similar Your Church On My Bonfire feels to a Frightened Rabbit record. [Adam Turner-Heffer] Listen to: The Watering Hole, What We Want

Big Wows [Heavenly Recordings, 19 Apr]

Callum Easter

free-improvisation – synth, guitar, field recording, who can say – and the remainder of the album stretches out like a perilous mountain range between yourself and your next record. But then, just when Stafford seems at his most distant, like a mountain guide who’s long wearied of your company, someone starts to speak, tinny and intimate as an answer phone message, and The Acid Bothy suddenly pulls into focus: ‘A’ they wankers moved oot ‘n’ left the small toons deid... Small town life mate – fuck the hipsters’. The Acid Bothy, with its shimmering valleys,

If ever there was a time in need of a band like Stealing Sheep, it’s 2019. While the incessant Brexit caterwauling continues unabated, there’s electro sanctuary to be found within the Liverpool trio’s world. Big Wows is shot through with glittery bounce and buzzing synth lines, each melody drowned out by anticipation of the next. Crossing unashamedly into the realms of the ridiculous, Rebecca Hawley, Emily Lansley and Lucy Mercer trade vocals and continually attempt to one-up one another, stacking memorable hooks as fast as they discard them. Stealing Sheep’s skill has never been in doubt, and three albums in they’ve attained a mastery of their craft that’s a joy to behold. [Aidan Reynolds] Listen to: Just Dreaming, Big Wows, Why Haven’t I?

cluttered stone ranges, and hissing sideways rain, is bigger than the sum of its parts. Care about where you and your neighbours reside, Stafford seems to say. Independent art is suffering in our culture, he seems to say. Put on a gig in your flat, even if you have no instruments. Make a zine with your friends. Organise a Harry Seacombe Rave. Just do something. [Dafydd Jenkins] Listen to: Chainsaw Teams, Small Town Living Mate, Harry Seacombe Rave

Rozi Plain

Priests

Martha

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What a Boost [Memphis Industries, 5 Apr] Across the course of a year, Rozi Plain toured the world playing bass in This Is the Kit. Those months were also spent crystallising her latest album, which took shape in a multitude of locations. This nomadic approach to crafting the record is reflected in its sound; just as Plain travelled the globe, What a Boost takes the listener on a sonic journey. The central cores of What a Boost, often tight and looping guitar lines mixed with Plain’s own gliding vocals that are warm and charming, form a base for which its varied textures can unfurl themselves in unique forms. Complex and vibrant, What a Boost is an invigorating and engaging ride. [Eugenie Johnson] Listen to: Conditions, Dark Park

RECORDS

Photo: John Mackie

Callum Easter

The Seduction of Kansas [Sister Polygon, 5 Apr] How do you feel about the country you’re from when all it does is give you tools with which to hate it? This is one of the questions Washington DC’s Priests are processing on their second full-length, The Seduction of Kansas. With extensive touring only bringing them closer to their home, the album acts as a kind of scrawled and madcap love letter to America, in all of its facets and flaws, currently and historically. On The Seduction of Kansas they thrillingly disrobe of any of the negative connotations that might come with the phrase 'political punks'; namely extreme directness and a sense of lacking musicality, as the band explores new identities both narratively and stylistically. [Tony Inglis] Listen to: YouTube Sartre, Not Perceived, Texas Instruments

Love Keeps Kicking [Big Scary Monsters, 5 Apr] In a world seemingly, increasingly full of hate, it’s often necessary to be reminded that love will always remain. Love Keeps Kicking, the third full-length from Pity Me, Durham twee-punks Martha, is an album about love lost and heartbreak, but there remains throughout a hopefulness that love will prevail. Every song here is expertly assembled, with the threat that they may crack and falter at any moment, but the band’s unity holds everything together in a very pleasing manner. If there’s any justice in the world, Love Keeps Kicking will be the record that sends Martha into the big leagues that they are surely destined to enter. [Adam Turner-Heffer] Listen to: Love Keeps Kicking, Wrestlemania VIII, Orange Juice

Review

B2B: Helena Hauff x Tama Sumo With Terminal V returning to Edinburgh’s Royal Highland Centre for its Easter party this month, two of the DJs performing – Helena Hauff and Tama Sumo – discuss their respective careers

can go to extremes; just don’t do the average Joe or play safe. The worst thing that could happen would be that people find the party nice.” This was in my first years as a DJ and it was great to have a promoter being open and brave and explicitly encouraging you to stay true to yourself and dare to try out things.

Helena Hauff

Tama Sumo: As far as I am informed, you started out DJing at Golden Pudel Club [in Hamburg]. When did you start DJing and what was the driving force behind it? Helena Hauff: During my teenage years I would record tonnes of cassette mixtapes, but I properly started DJing in 2009. I got my first decks and my first gig at the Pudel. I really wanted to become a DJ because I liked the idea of free booze in the backstage. I soon got obsessed with turntables and records/music and couldn’t and wouldn’t wanna do anything else anymore.

Review

You’ve played different events around the world. Did you – due to those experiences – ever feel the wish that you maybe want to not only travel but to move somewhere else? If so, where and why? Actually the more I travel the more I appreciate where I live. Especially because you can still smoke inside bars and clubs in Hamburg, which is something I really enjoy. Also, I get to see so many different things and meet so many cool people around the world; it’s nice to have a fairly quiet everyday existence when I’m back. It’s cool to live in a place where all your friends are and you feel totally at home.

What’s the biggest challenge you had to face during your career? My so-called ‘career’ had ups and downs, which – I guess – is part of the game and it is always a bit of a struggle if something that you love doing is seeing some rainy days. When the old OstGut, Berghain’s forerunner club where I also played quite often, had to close [at the] beginning of 2003, my DJ bookings slowed down and I also was not so inspired by the nightlife in Berlin then. It was a time where I was mainly playing in Berlin. I thought I may have to probably give up DJing. Then rumours started circulating that a new OstGut will probably open, but nobody knew for sure, plus it was also not a given that they would ask me back again. So I was ecstatic when, shortly after the opening of Berghain, I got the phone call from one of the owners to play there again. And, as it later turned out, even on a regular basis as a resident.

“ Now everything feels a bit more analysed... plus, on top, everything is more widespread nowadays because of the internet” Tama Sumo

Do you have a favourite type of gig? (small club, big club, festival). Do you find positives in all of them, and what do you find most challenging? I can find positives in all of them – at the end, a lot depends on the crowd and how things are put together. The perfect gig would probably be in a medium-sized environment, with a crowd from all walks of life, a great sound system and a sensitive thought behind the musical curation. The most challenging thing for me is if I find myself at an event where I have the feeling that neither the crowd and atmosphere nor the music that’s been played has anything to do with me. The challenge then is to stay true to myself and go through it. Luckily that’s not happening too often! And, most importantly, what’s your favourite colour? I love red, rather the strong tones and the slightly darker versions. Helena Hauff and Tama Sumo play at Terminal V – The Rising, Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh, 20 Apr

What do you do to unwind after a stressful tour/weekend? I sleep and sleep and sleep and then I eat and drink and meet friends and then I sleep again. If you had only one track in your life that you [could] listen to, which one would it be? The Stooges – Gimme Danger. But if there was more time before I finally kicked the bucket I’d listen to the whole album, Raw Power! When you travel, what do you miss the most or what do you look the most forward to when you come back home? Sleep! Helena Hauff: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? Tama Sumo: [In the] middle of the 90s there was this lovely, creative and, in the best way, crazy guy that did a regular party in Kreuzberg. He asked DJ Clé and myself to be his residents and we were up for it. Before the opening night his request regarding music was kind of: “You have all the freedom to do what you want and feel. You are free to experiment and challenge the crowd. You

CLUBS

Tama Sumo

THE SKINNY

Photo: Sven Marquardt

ow firmly a staple on the Scottish festivals calendar, Terminal V will once again take over Edinburgh’s Royal Highland Centre for their 11-hour Easter party, The Rising, and as usual the line-up does not disappoint. Heading up the bill, Canadian DJ and producer Richie Hawtin will be making his first appearance in the capital for 18 years, having last performed in Scotland on his experimental live hardware CLOSE tour at Glasgow’s O2 Academy in October. Meanwhile, other line-up highlights include Ukrainian DJ Nastia, Australian young gun Mall Grab, techno mainstay Daniel Avery and Mixmag’s DJ of 2018 Objekt. Edinburgh club Sneaky Pete’s return to the festival to host The Green House, following their stage takeover at Terminal V’s Halloween party last year, with sets from the likes of Derrick Carter, Horse Meat Disco and Young Marco. And making their first appearances at the festival are satirical publication Wunderground, who will present The Rescue Stage, and popular Edinburgh bar Paradise Palms, who bring with them a team of regulars to perform in The Palms Tent. Ahead of their sets at the Easter festival, Berghain resident Tama Sumo and rising techno star Helena Hauff discuss their careers, touring and the ever-changing landscape of dance music.

Photo: Fabian Hammerl

How long have you been DJing for and what is the biggest difference/change between then and now, positive and/or negative? I have been DJing [for] over 25 years now. Techno and house especially in Europe were still pretty new and, for me, everything felt more innocent in terms of music productions, doing events etc. There was no blueprint for anything and I found this very charming. Now everything feels a bit more analysed, which is not surprising at all. The electronic music scene grew older, and of course a lot has been written about it and discussed, plus on top everything is more widespread nowadays because of the internet.

Interview: Nadia Younes

April 2019

Review

THE SKINNY

Label Profile: Hilltown Disco

Hilltown Disco

“I

was in the final year of my Business Studies degree at Abertay and one of the modules involved working with a local business for three months, with the aim of improving it operationally,” says Ben Traill, as he begins tracing the roots of his Hilltown Disco record label. He decided to begin working with Barry Reeves, better known as local disco head Dicky Trisco, who runs Disco Deviance, Secret Squirrel and Home Taping amongst a cluster of underground electronic imprints. “At this point Barry was still doing all royalty statements the old school paper and calculator way, so I transferred all of this onto Excel documents and set-up templates to make it much easier and quicker in future. In return, I was learning how to run a record label.” Inspired by Reeves’ proudly DIY ethos, Traill and friend Mikey Ramsay began laying the foundations for an imprint aimed at providing a platform for a handful of friends who were showing promise in the field of music production.

Photo: Agata Urbanska

DIY electronic imprint Hilltown Disco is helping rejuvenate Dundee’s music scene and proving there’s life outside of Scotland’s two main cities. Two of the label’s curators, Ben Traill and Matt Laidler, tell us more

Now all that was needed was a name. “Mikey had a flat in the Hilltown area of Dundee that became notorious and hated by neighbours after a string of parties,” he continues. “It made the front page of the Evening Telegraph and newspaper boards around the city ran with the headline ‘HILLTOWN DISCO PARTY ANGER’. So that was the name for the label sorted there and then!” Buoyed by solid first releases involving friends and contemporaries from the Dundee scene, it wasn’t long before Hilltown Disco began receiving demos and submissions from producers further afield. “I still remember when [French electro outfit] Crossmods sent us the tunes for HIL003,” enthuses Matt Laidler, who now runs the label with Traill and fellow local DJ Stephen Malloch. “They sounded so crisp and perfectly fitted into the sound we wanted to push. From then on we’ve been on the hunt for similar-sounding music.” Running an independent, DIY record label doesn’t come without its challenges, particularly when both Traill and Laidler work long hours in

their day jobs, but five records deep and it’s clear the imprint is going from strength to strength. As well as throwing regular parties at the city’s Reading Rooms to give the label an extra layer of financial sustainability, the crew have also turned their attention to a charitable cause in the form of their Art Angel fundraiser series – an online-only run of EPs where all proceeds are dedicated to the Tayside mental health charity of the same name. “Art Angel is a fantastic local charity, and they caught our eye because of the work they do with people struggling with mental illness – something we’ve all dealt with in one way or another,” Laidler explains. “The fact they supply a safe space where people are encouraged to bring out their creative side is such a fantastic idea and they deserve all the funding they can get.” And despite being far removed from notable electronic music hubs like Berlin, London or Amsterdam, the crew are convinced that the scene in Scotland’s fourth city is only headed in one direction. “There’s some exciting things happening in Dundee right now,” insists Laidler. “Whether it’s club nights like Guesthaus or Non Stop bringing exciting DJs to the city, or the recently-opened Le Freak Records that’s been throwing some great in-store parties.” Traill interjects: “Another huge bonus is the Reading Rooms... It’s effectively the beating heart of the Dundee scene, but its future was in serious doubt for a number of months. Thankfully, after a sustained period of fundraising, it’s no longer in danger of closing down and the Dundee scene can continue to thrive.” HIL005 is released on 5 Apr via Hilltown Disco Hilltown Disco DJ The Reading Rooms, Dundee, 19 May

Interview: Michael Lawson

Release Timeline HIL001 (Jan 2017): East Ayrshire lo-fi fiend Treb, Edinburgh acid head J Wax and promising local producer Ansata combine for a compilation EP, and HIL001 is born. HIL002 (Mar 2017): A strictly local affair as J Wax and Ansata return alongside disco edit royalty in the form of Dicky Trisco and his amusingly-titled I Heard It Through the Bleeps and Basslines. HIL003 (Jul 2018): Looking further afield, HIL003 takes in three tracks from French electro duo Crossmods and one each from J Wax and Swedish veteran Edmundy. HIL004 (Aug 2018): A further two tracks from Crossmods (one remixed by Belgian artist Datawave), one from Bournemouth’s Chris Moss Acid and an electro cut from Crossover Network. Ramiel (Jan 2019): A five-track, digital-only EP with all proceeds dedicated to Tayside mental health charity Art Angel. HIL005 (Apr 2019): A sharp left sees the imprint tread into murky electro waters for the freshly-released HIL005, with Leipzig duo Robyrt Hecht & Int Main combining on three tracks and Utrecht’s w1b0 providing another two.

Club, Actually This month’s best parties feature a globe-spanning range of DJs in all your favourite Scottish clubs, as well as an unmissable late night Glasgow party in a secret location Words: Nadia Younes Illustration: Verbals Picks

Partial presents Mozhgan @ La Cheetah Club, Glasgow, 5 Apr Iranian-born Mozhgan’s We Are Monsters nights have grown into an essential party for San Franciscoans since its formation in 2011, with recent guests including Marie Davidson, Aurora Halal and Lena Willikens. As a resident DJ there, alongside San Francisco native Solar, Mozhgan explores sounds leaning towards the cold wave and industrial side of electronic music. Partial residents Adler and Ubo will be on hand for the warm-up. Pulse with Blawan @ The Caves, Edinburgh, 6 Apr TERNESC label boss Blawan has performed under numerous different aliases over the years, with solo releases under the names Kilner and Bored Young Adults, as well as collaborative projects

April 2019

with Surgeon as Trade and Pariah as Karenn. The latter recently announced their first album in five years, Kind of Green, due out on their own label, Voam, on 13 April. But before that, catch Blawan going it alone in the historic vaults of The Caves. Missing Persons Club: Alienata & Madalba @ Lunacy Module, Glasgow, 6 Apr MPC bring two of the most exciting DJs going right now to a secret location in Glasgow for this late night party. Originally hailing from Spain, Alienata runs her own Discos Atónicos label out of her new home city of Berlin and specialises in dark and obscure sounds, while Madalba moved to Berlin from Italy, where she runs a queer party called Buttons and holds down a residency at clubbing institution Tresor. Proceedings don’t kick off until 2am, so prepare yourself for a long night of partying.

LT x La Cheetah w/ Elena Colombi, Ribeka & Wardy @ La Cheetah Club, Glasgow, 12 Apr Another Italian descending upon Glasgow’s club scene this month is Elena Colombi, who’ll be joining Glasgow local Ribeka for her latest LT party. Now based in London, Colombi hosts a monthly radio show on NTS, which demonstrates her diverse range of musical influences, as also demonstrated in her DJ sets. This show is another strand of La Cheetah’s ten year celebrations, where they’ll be teaming up with regular promoters to bring in acts they both love. Ribeka and La Cheetah resident Wardy will play together for the first time ahead of Colombi’s set.

others. Having held 30 parties in the club’s sister venue La Cheetah Club over the past three years, the Electric Salsa lot move up to the larger surrounds of Room 2 for a huge third birthday triple bill. Belgium’s Peter Van Hoesen and local duo WECHT will grace the decks, and Broken English Club, aka Oliver Ho, will perform a live set.

Phazed presents Holly Lester @ The Reading Rooms, Dundee, 26 Apr Irish DJ Holly Lester had a massive end to 2018, having performed her debut Boiler Room set at Belfast’s AVA festival, alongside Job Jobse and Mano Le Tough, and securing a residency at Manchester’s The Warehouse Project. Lester gained support in the early days of her DJ career One Year of Ryot with Pleasure Pool (live) from fellow Irish duo Bicep, who invited her to join @ The Mash House, Edinburgh, 13 Apr them on their Feel My Bicep mixtape series and For Ryot’s first birthday celebrations, they’ve party. Since then, her career has gone from invited social media shy Glasgow band Pleasure strength to strength and looks to keep going on Pool along to play a late night live set in room two that upward trajectory. of The Mash House. The four-piece band consists of drums, vocals and synths and create exhilaratSubstance: Levon Vincent @ The Bongo Club, Edinburgh, 27 Apr ing electro-leaning post-punk, which is sure to Levon Vincent is widely-regarded as an important sound great in a club setting. Also on the bill are figure in pioneering New York’s house and techno local talent Rory Millington and a B2B from Ryot resurgence in the 00s. His own label, Novel Sound, residents Scott Davidson and Ryan Wilson. has included releases from a range of international DJs and producers, including Ryan Elliott, Electric Salsa 3rd Birthday: Peter Van Kenneth Christiansen and Dustin Zahn. Vincent Hoesen, Broken English Club (live) and makes his Bongo Club debut at Substance, with a WECHT @ Room 2, Glasgow, 20 Apr Following its opening weekend last month, Room 2 three-hour set, returning to Scotland just a are keeping the parties coming, this month hosting month after his set at Glasgow’s Room 2 for Feed Electric Salsa’s third birthday party, among many Your Head last month.

CLUBS

Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl By Andrea Lawlor

rrrrr Queer is a tricky word to define. A derogatory slur appropriated to mean someone or something not-heteronormative, the word carries a heaviness, typically used to describe a state of otherness, of absence, of strangeness. Unless you are in it, it remains unattainable. It’s no small feat then, that in Paul Takes the Form of a

Mortal Girl’s 300-odd pages, Andrea Lawlor manages to define queerness in a way few books have been able to achieve. The titular Paul is our hot mess of an antihero. 1990s Iowa City is our setting. Alongside tending bar at night and taking gender studies classes during the day, Paul spends most of his time shape shifting between male and female bodily forms. This magic trick is never explained. Instead, Paul lives a life that both defies and transcends classification, neither gay nor straight nor bi nor pan nor trans nor gender-fluid, yet somehow encompassing all these states of being simultaneously. Virginia Woolf ’s Orlando is a clear influence, but Lawlor’s writing is all her own. With a voice that is both funny and tragic, she drops the reader into unexplained situations and backs out, giving us space inside her characters’ heads. Lawlor’s novel is full of unabashed, smutty, graphic sex as Paul with his aching libido moves 'like a shark', unable to stop, through the city searching to satisfy his desires. What a pleasure it is to read a book about a queer body that is a source of pleasure, rather than one of self-hatred, to be pitied or condemned. Sexual greed is a way of survival, a way for Paul to feel alive. Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl reads like a liberation. It is magnificent. [Katie Goh] Pan Macmillan, 18 Apr, £14.99 panmacmillan.com

Rhyme Watch April brings with it a slew of new poetry collections alongside live highlights including multimedia show Drone and Hollie McNish back on tour

The Red Word By Sarah Henstra

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“The myths don’t have a clue what to do with women. We need to build our own mythology.” With these words, spoken through the character of Dyann, Sarah Henstra cements the necessity of her latest novel. The Red Word offers raw insight into the complexities of sexual politics, told from the perspective of Karen Huls, a sharp-minded student at an American university. Given her relationships with a fraternity and her radically feminist housemates, she finds herself intimately involved with two cultures holding very different views about women. Through Karen, we are introduced to characters who are fleshed-out, flawed, and full of vitality, but are not without realism. The narrative follows the familiar arc of a marginalised group that takes action against those in power, then deals with the consequences when things get out of hand. Though the outline itself isn’t new, the framing of the story in the style of a Greek myth makes this novel a significant. This connection is critical because, as one character suggests, the ancient Greeks popularised the ideas of masculinity and femininity that pervade contemporary Western culture. As Karen suggests, women as actors with agency were left out of the Greek myths that inform our reality. Knowing the power of these stories, Henstra creates an urgency about this lack of feminine mythology. The Red Word is a dynamic story intelligently told. It wants to be part of a mythos for women, and in this, it triumphs. [Emily Corpuz]

here are plenty of new collections to keep you occupied throughout April, but how about warming up with Stewed Rhubarb’s new pamphlet, Finding Sea Glass: Poems from The Drift, by Hannah Lavery. The launch date is set for Friday 5 April at the Scottish Poetry Library, and will not only feature Hannah but also supporting poets Jim Monaghan, Colin Bramwell, Melissa Goodbourn and music from Hailey Beavis. Also launching at the Scottish Poetry Library is Lynn Davidson’s new collection, Islander, which is out with Shearsman this month. Author of Saltire Poetry Book of the Year (2017), Em Strang has praised the collection as a “rippling movement of the sea in sunlight, reflecting at once here, at once there, and then dissolving the distinctions.” Both Lynn and Em will be reading their poetry at the launch on 16 April. Picador Poetry will be publishing Layli Long Soldier’s Whereas, out on 18 April. A recipient of a Lannah Literary Fellowship, a Native Arts and Cultures Foundation National Artist Fellowship and a Whiting Award, Layli’s poetry examines and challenges the language used by the United States government in its duplicitous interactions with Native American peoples and tribes. The collection has already won, been shortlisted or longlisted for several American and Canadian awards from 2017 onwards, including the National Book Award for Poetry, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and the Griffin Prize. In a quick Carcanet round-up, we have – all publishing on 25 April – Thomas McCarthy’s new collection Prophecy, Rebecca Goss’s Girl, and Pere Gimferrer (translated by Adrian Nathan West) with The Catalan Poems. What an excellent month for poetry across Scotland, as Drone, written and performed by

Review

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Rumi and her sister Lea live for music, and for Rumi, her love for music and for her sister are the two things which she can be sure of. But when Lea dies in a car accident, Rumi is sent off to Hawaii, where she is forced to battle her grief – for Lea, for their music, and for her mother’s apparent abandonment – alone. Along the way, Rumi meets the two ‘boys next door’: Kai, the teenage surfer, and Mr Watanabe, the cantankerous elderly neighbour with a high-maintenance dog. Slowly, and angrily, Rumi learns that she is not alone – isolated as she may feel without her sister – and that it is okay to be lost, angry or unable to cope, or even to just be yourself. Summer Bird Blue is both vastly and powerfully complicated. In many ways, it is a story of Rumi’s self-reflection on how to cope without her sister, but also of self-acceptance – of her feelings towards romance and sexuality, and of her independent nature and musical ability. Fundamentally, she realises that she does not have to be Lea to be okay. Summer Bird Blue is an immensely detailed journey of grief. It is raw, angry and heartwrenching – but like any journey, it is full of lessons, of stumbling-blocks, and of healing. The writing is poignant and fiercely independent, and re-affirms what her debut Starfish has already proven – that Akemi Dawn Bowman is an author of stellar talent, and one to watch. [Mika Cook] Ink Road, 26 Mar, £7.99

Tramp Press, 21 Mar, £12.99

Words: Beth Cochrane

Summer Bird Blue By Akemi Dawn Bowman

Harry Josephine Giles, will begin its tour on 11-13 April in Glasgow’s The Tron. The multi-media (sound, visual) poetry show is about technology, gender and anxiety wrapped up in the narrative of a military drone’s life and fears. Harry Josephine is a Forward-shortlisted poet and their co-creators include international sound artist Neil Simpson (Buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo), digital artist Jamie Wardrop (Beats, The Dwelling Place) and director Rob Jones. From Glasgow Drone will go to London (2 May), Orkney (9 May), Hoy (10 May) and Edinburgh (4-5 June). Hollie McNish will be performing in Galashiels’s MacArts on 14 April, 8-9.30pm. Through the night she will be reading her poetry and chatting about her most recent collections. Nobody Told Me, published in 2016 by Little Brown of Blackfriars Books, won Hollie the Ted Hughes award in the same year. It’s a collection which The Scotsman claims ‘the world needs’, and has so far been translated into French, Spanish and German. This performance, alongside a second in Edinburgh’s Summerhall on 18 April, will have Michael Pedersen as the support act. Tessa Berring is hosting MainPoint POETRY on 22 April, 7pm, in (you guessed it), Main Point Books, Edinburgh. The line-up features a remarkable group of poets, including Anne Laure Brugnon Coxam, Chelsea Tadeyeske, Edie Roberts, Nick-e Melville and Helena Fornells. The poets, although all currently residing in Edinburgh, come from France, Milwaukee, Michigan and Barcelona, as well as Scotland. It’s difficult to predict what will happen on the night, but the poets have an excellent publishing history, having pamphlets and collections out with the likes of Sad Press, Rabbit Catastrophe Press and Bathmatics.

Welcome to the Heady Heights By David F. Ross

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Only Americans Burn in Hell By Jarett Kobek

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Archie Blunt is a Glaswegian down on his luck: he’s been suspended from his bus job, he’s still grieving for his dead wife and he’s struggling to look after his father’s declining health. Despite it all he’s a Glasgow man through and through, resilient and resourceful – this city can’t throw much at him he can’t deal with. Or so he thinks. When an unwitting encounter with a showbiz idol leaves him starry-eyed, he sets about climbing the ladder of fame, fortune and reality telly with a rag-tag group of East End teens. But both Glasgow and this showbiz world have dirty secrets, as Archie’s about to discover. The book could easily seem artificial in its plot and setting, yet by the end Ross has woven a narrative together so organically you’ll want to kick yourself for ever doubting its plausibility. Ross produces a picture of 70s Glasgow we may not be wholly familiar with, for better or worse, leaving us questioning what may also be lurking below the surface now. Welcome to the Heady Heights is a whirlwind of 70s Glasgow complete with chippies, boozers and brown cord flares. Witty, dark humour cuts through what can at times be an uncomfortably real narrative, setting an invigorating pace for this tale of glitz, glam and institutional corruption which keeps you guessing at every turn. [Emily Hay]

Let’s be honest: the world feels like a shit-show. Trump, Brexit and a thousand injustices fill our news feeds. Reading a lazy fantasy novel that uses fairy’s magic as a substitute for good plotting is depressingly similar to reading a newspaper article breaking the news that a billionaire TV celebrity is the President of the United States. This pretty much sums up Only Americans Burn in Hell. Chapters alternate between this fantasy narrative about magic fairies and commentary on the power structures that dominate in the real world. The overall effect? Kurt Vonnegut meets Stewart Lee meets a Twitter-thread wormhole. Kobek’s writing is hilarious and punchy, repeatedly drawing in the reader with running jokes and one-liners before delivering mighty slaps to the face with some hard-hitting truths – reminders that, while we may laugh, all is not well. Our phones, social media, good intentions, this laptop I write on: nothing is beyond making money for those who use it for inhumane acts. Despite its genre-defying boldness, engagement with injustices and commentary on power systems, Only Americans Burn in Hell is without pretension and condescension. Kobek doesn’t hold back in this hilarious and vicious criticism of all we take for granted. You shouldn’t hold back from reading it. [Rebecca Wojturska]

Orenda Books, 21 Mar, £8.99

Serpent’s Tail, 10 Apr, £12.99

BOOKS

THE SKINNY

Where Art Now? Y

ou might be wondering how the first quarter of the year has managed to flash past. This is no April Fool’s, 25% of the year has come and gone. The good news is there’s still a sweet nine months left to see mindbending artwork. Sorry to say, seeing it on Instagram only counts for a half point so get these dates down because April’s bringing many opportunities to catch-up with the Scottish art scene, not to mention some worthy deadlines to keep in mind for the artists out there. Exhibitions and events After a long period of development, research and engagement with the sex workers’ communities involved, Collective this month present an exhibition by artist Petra Bauer. At the centre is Workers!, the result of the long term collaboration between Collective, Scottish sex worker charity SCOT-PEP and the Swedish artist and filmmaker. Sex workers’ voices as experts on their labour and lives are given priority, and the film’s

approach is inspired by feminist film practitioners ‘who emphasise the importance of making films with their subjects, not about them.’ The exhibition is open from 13 April-13 June. Also on 13 April from 12-4.30pm, Rhubaba host an intimate presentation of new work in development by the choreographer Mark Bleakley. What will be presented is a performance lasting three hours, during which three performers will build a sculptural landscape of ‘flesh and plastic that is simultaneously revered and disposed of ’, opening up questions about contemporary value systems and the body. The performance will be followed by a reflective discussion with artists with similar interests to Bleakley. Booking is necessary: email markrbleakley@gmail.com with the subject line ‘HWHTS appointment’. Throughout April, Embassy Gallery in Edinburgh runs its members’ show, providing an opportunity for their members to show in the space. With Embassy members spanning the

breadth of the artistic scene, the show is always a packed sample of artists making work around Edinburgh and beyond. Stills and Street Level Photography team up this month to put on the exhibition Ambit, which collects a diverse range of artists who are all working experimentally in relation to photography. Across the exhibitors, they work with drones, cameraless photography and across locations in Scotland and Ethiopia. The preview is from 6-8pm on 11 April and the exhibition continues from 12 April-2 June. Residences and Open Calls Scottish Sculpture Workshop are seeking applications for their summer residencies until 15 April. Each residency lasts four weeks and allows the artist to spend one month working on the development of their practice – whether this is for production, research or experimentation. The summer residencies run from June to September. There’s the chance to use their

Andrew Kerr The Modern Institute rrrrr

Prunella Clough, Person with Pink, 1999, oil on canvas, 40.5 x 48 cm

Prunella Clough 42 Carlton Place rrrrr With 21 paintings representing the enviable breadths of painter Prunella Clough’s career and experimentations, you’d be forgiven for wondering if the works from 1944-99 were actually the work of several artists. In the back room, the first of these works chronologically is the dark but luminous Study for a Scene on Ruined Beach. The tone and palette are metallic, and the canvas of the painting itself could be mistaken for a plate of aluminium or steel, looking as heavy and conversely luminous as it does. It sings next to the noisy, holey surface of the hot pink abstraction next to it, which looks a lot like what might be left after one pulls some plasterboard away. Each one is dense in allusion. Some of Clough’s reference images can be found in one of the catalogues by the entrance. There isn’t a one-to-one direct relationship between them and any single painting, but nevertheless there’s the sense of Clough observationally quoting an elegant shape or texture, then amassing and mixing these visual samples into abstract concentrations.

April 2019

Hung conspicuously low, many of these works – on paper, board and sometimes canvas – emanate the same subtle feeling of being at an unusual vantage that carries through several of Andrew Kerr’s latest paintings. For example, Bright Hook could be the corner of a roof detail seen from above – a shining oblong white shape is the paper left bare, and it gleams in comparison to the sfumato metallic muted blues and grey-purple top section. Throughout the richly gestural small-scale compositions, the colour relationships are deliberately non-representational in most of the works, with purples, mustard and rusted pinks or reds usually butting up alongside each other. But maybe the colours aren’t so imaginary. Outside the large window in the gallery, there are some old red sandstone railway arches with white scuzz growing on them, with green moss emerging where they meet the pavement. The ground is the

Words: Adam Benmakhlouf

production facilities, as well as receive timetabled support from the technical and curatorial team, and a loose programme of activities, including ‘film and sauna nights’. Though not completely supported, the residencies are heavily subsidised. Until 23 April at 10am, LUX Scotland are accepting proposals from artists to be included in their Margaret Tait 100 Programme. Ten works will be commissioned, five of which will be drawn from this open call to Scotland-based artists and filmmakers for ‘new short moving image works that respond to the life, work, approach or attitude of Tait’. They are envisioned as ‘one-minute for Margaret’. Each successful proposal will receive an award of £1000 which should cover both production costs and artists’ fee. Grampian Hospital Trust are also offering a £17,500 budget for a horticulture-interested artist to develop a new patient garden in the Inverurie Community Hospital Site. The deadline is Monday 15 April at 5pm.

blue-grey of a dusty paving stone. This view maps visually on to the overcast, postindustrial atmosphere of the foggy railway bridges in several of Kerr’s works. The paintings begin to swirl with time and rot and organic intrusion. They seem to accumulate, as smokey texture is overlaid with daubed descriptions of a ledge, then a crisply drawn form. As in the work Corner, this is a rounded-off triangle with two antennaelike limbs. A small oval is just above and to the left. The paper is cut away, creating more of a sheer edge than in other works. Cloud-gazing into the many different works, at moments they begin to coalesce into something like the landscapes seen in some damp on a wall. Many of the ambiguities speak to a sense of the liminal, the moment before shapes and forms coalesce into sense. At once, these are the renderings of a murky inner life but also the outside world through a subjective and unreliable lens. [Adam Benmakhlouf] The Modern Institute, Glasgow, until 11 May

See for instance Soft Ring. This work is in a rich turquoise and a thick, opaque beige cream. The oval-ish shape in the middle of the composition has angles that one might mistake for the outline of a rounded-off, abstract cube shape. In the background, a line of rich blue-green goes in and out of focus as Clough seems to have carefully blotted parts out, perhaps with calculated spills of turpentine on the oil paint. The effect is to create further ambiguous depth and the texture of marble or blue cheese. This central composition recurs in what looks like the whirling, smokey crystal ball cloud that fills the portrait-oriented rectangle of Sweet Jar, the perfect circle in By the Seaside I – surrounded here by two green and red cloud shapes – and the lightly-sketched onion in the 1957 mixed media on paper work of the same name. This recurrence among the visual variety of the abstract paintings gives a sense of Clough’s wandering and captious eye that collects a diverse vocabulary of unpredictable forms and shapes, then subtly and patiently reinvents an ingenious grammar across the works on show. [Adam Benmakhlouf] 42 Carlton Place, Glasgow, until 28 April, Thurs-Sun, 12-6pm

ART

Andrew Kerr, Mist at the Pillars, Installation view, The Modern Institute 2019

Review

Photo: Patrick Jameson

There’s the culmination of years of work between artist Petra Bauer and sex worker charity SCOT-PEP at Collective this month, as well as other events, exhibitions and opportunities to note, all collected here for maximum diary-updating convenience

In Cinemas The Sisters Brothers

Director: Jacques Audiard Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, John C Reilly, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riz Ahmed

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A kind of post-western in the vein of Slow West, Deadwood or Bone Tomahawk, Jacques Audiard’s The Sisters Brothers returns to the iconic open plains and hardy saloons of John Ford and Sergio Leone, but with the rose-tinted lens torn from the camera and flung into the mud. His film’s Wild West is a raw, unforgiving wilderness in which most towns don’t have roads, let alone functioning justice systems. The law counts for very little here, ammunition and ambition for a lot. It is a place in which men like the Sisters Brothers do very well. Charlie (Phoenix) and Eli (Reilly) Sisters are guns for hire, roaming from town to town at direction of the wealthy Commodore, leaving blood and ash behind them. Charlie is an arrogant drunk with a wild streak, proudly announcing himself in each new town just to see

who will draw on him first. In spite of his giant frame, Eli is gentler in both his words and his ways, watching over his younger brother with a worried frown. He doesn’t take the same pleasure in their work and talks of retiring into a simpler life. We begin to wonder, though, if he doesn’t secretly need Charlie’s violence to justify his own; he can’t be the bad guy when his brother is so much worse. When he’s shooting the West itself, Audiard indulges in the same painterly wide shots his predecessors used to evoke the scale and wonder of the American landscape. When he’s shooting the men who populate it, the crass and greedy fools who squander its beauty while scrambling around in the mud, the camera bobs and stumbles drunkenly, robbed of its elegance by their mean designs. The power of The Sisters Brothers is in its ability to hold these two contradictory ideas of the West together so perfectly, creating a film that is somehow at once brutal and nihilistic, beautiful, sweet and funny. [Ross McIndoe] Released 5 Apr by Universal; certificate 15

Pet Sematary

Director: Kevin Kölsch, Dennis Widmyer Starring: Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz

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Stephen King’s 1983 novel Pet Sematary certainly seems to have all the ingredients for a timeless horror, with its themes of haunted lands, spiritual quandaries and the hubris of men. But this latest rendition is so desperate to carve its own path that it loses sight of what made the tale such an effective one in the first place. The skeleton of the story remains the same: Dr Louis Creed (played by Jason Clarke) moves his wife Rachel (Amy Seimetz) and their two children to a charmingly bucolic college town in Maine, where long-buried traumas begin to resurface and tragedy soon changes the family forever. Thirty years after Mary Lambert’s original adaptation (and its 1992 sequel), directors Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer wisely foreground the vital divide between Louis, an atheist, and Rachel, a Christian. They fundamentally disagree on how to explain death to their eldest daughter

Ellie (Jeté Laurence), and in fact take steps to hide her from its reality altogether. And because Pet Sematary is primarily a parable of grief, fate exacts a cruel price for their deception. One major divergence from the source material (implausibly revealed in the trailer) is arguably the film’s greatest strength, which it promptly proceeds to fumble. Perhaps the third act wants its audience to ask what does it mean to curl up with death and mourning, but the result is unintentionally funny rather than resonant. Clunky dialogue and an uneven screenplay undermine otherwise strong performances, particularly John Lithgow as the family’s neighbour Jud, who has next to nothing to do here. And this new conclusion neuters any possibility to read the film outside its phantasmic confines. The cinematography is often haunting and the jump scares are fun, but Pet Sematary ultimately becomes a deeply conventional horror. [Kelli Weston] Released 4 Apr by Paramount; certificate 15

The Sisters Brothers

Dragged Across Concrete

Director: S Craig Zahler Starring: Mel Gibson, Vince Vaughn, Tory Kittles

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Brett Ridgeman (Gibson) has been a cop for a long time. Too long, probably. He’s failed to rise through the ranks and now has a partner who’s 20 years his junior (Vaughn). Fortunately, the younger man shares his ‘ends justify the means’ approach to police work – sometimes this may involve standing on the back of a man’s neck or tormenting a naked deaf woman. It could have been fascinating to see how far an audience could sympathise with him in spite of his fading humanity, but his views just sound like the greatest hits reel for one of Fox News’ least interesting pundits. All of which leaves the audience in an awkward place, because everything on top of this is sublime. The cops’ banter has a kind of hyper-articulate gruffness that sounds like Mozart played on a drum kit, yet as good as he is with one-liners, writer and director S. Craig Zahler really shines once the talking stops; Dragged Across Concrete is an excellent action flick. [Ross McIndoe] Released 19 Apr by StudioCanal; certificate 18

Mid90s

Wild Rose

Mid90s

Eighth Grade

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Director: Tom Harper Starring: Jessie Buckley, Julie Walters, Sophie Okonedo, James Harkness, Jamie Sives, Bob Harris Like any great country song, Wild Rose is deceptively straightforward but packs a heck of an emotional punch. It follows 23-year-old ex-con RoseLynn (Buckley), a country singer from Glasgow who dreams of making it big in the States. Director Tom Harper balances this familiar tale of selfdiscovery with expressive moments of magic. The film is peppered with enough country setpieces to be classed as a musical. The film’s so much fun, in fact, that you only half notice its left-turn from the star-is-born setup to something altogether richer and more emotionally satisfying. In a former life, Buckley was the runner up on a singing contest, and she’s clearly a born performer. What makes Wild Rose truly sing, though, is that she’s an even better actor. Watching her torment as she struggles to balance her ambition and her responsibilities as a mother is agonising, while her sparring with her own mother (Walters’ best performance in yonks) feels spiky and lived-in and oh-so-real. We’re not sure if Rose-Lynn will be the next Dolly Parton but for Buckley herself, the big time is surely around the corner. [Jamie Dunn]

Director: Jonah Hill Starring: Sunny Suljic, Lucas Hedges, Na-kel Smith, Olan Prenatt, Gio Galicia, Ryder McLaughlin, Alexa Demie Jonah Hill’s directorial debut throws us into the SoCal skate culture of the 1990s, as told through the eyes of the pint-sized Stevie (Suljic) as he navigates the trials of early adolescence. Hill likes to linger on visual and aural artifacts of the past – a Ninja Turtles bed cover, Seal’s Kiss From a Rose. This fetishisation of the 90s art direction isn’t something to get hung up on; it’s just the setup. What he’s really interested in is the drama of adolescence. Stevie’s a tough cookie. He gets regular beatings from his unstable older brother (Hedges), all the while trying to release himself from the apron strings of his mother (Waterston). It’s not surprising that when opportunity knocks, he prefers to spend time with his new skater friends. They sit in a skate shop, chatting the stupid chat of teenage boys. Topics of discussion include whether it’s ‘gay’ to say thank you. Hill’s made a time capsule of a film and infused it with real heart and passion. If this is his debut, it will be great to see what’s next. [Joseph Walsh] Released 12 Apr by Altitude; certificate 15

Released 12 Apr by Entertainment One; certificate 15

Review

FILM & TV

Director: Bo Burnham Starring: Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton, Emily Robinson, Jake Ryan, Fred Hechinger, Daniel Zolghadri, Catherine Oliviere Adolescence is brutal. Or at least it feels that way. The great achievement of Bo Burnham’s debut feature Eighth Grade is that he manages to visually articulate this teen angst, and the results are hilarious and oh so cringe-worthy. Our focus is 13-year-old Kayla (Fisher), who presents a motivational vlog aimed at her peers with topics like ‘How to be confident’, despite being a cripplingly shy social pariah. Burnham has a knack for putting us in Kayla’s awkward skin: a pool party full of cooler kids becomes a waking nightmare, while every appearance of Kayla’s crush sends the image into a dopey swoon. Anna Meredith’s swirling electronic score taps us into Kayla’s psyche too, amping up the feeling of anxiety one moment, acting as the teen’s faux-triumphant theme music the next. Eighth Grade finds its tender heart in Kayla’s relationship with her adorkable father, who knows his daughter is struggling but doesn’t quite know how to help. Burnham’s refusal to cast the internet as the film’s bogeyman is refreshing too. Adolescence is brutal, and this remarkably wellobserved film doesn’t sugar coat it. [Jamie Dunn] Released 26 Apr by Sony; certificate 15

THE SKINNY

Council Telly Special Fleabag

Derry Girls

This Time with Alan Partridge

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Director: Harry Bradbeer (Writer: Phoebe Waller-Bridge) Starring: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Hugh Skinner, Sian Clifford, Brett Gelman, Bill Paterson, Olivia Colman

Director: Michael Lennox (Writer: Lisa McGee) Starring: Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Louisa Harland, Nicola Coughlan, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, Dylan Llewellyn

Director: Neil Gibbons, Rob Gibbons (Writers: Steve Coogan, Neil Gibbons, Rob Gibbons) Starring: Steve Coogan, Susannah Fielding, Tim Key

“Get. Your. Hands. Off. My. Miscarriage.” Oh, Fleabag, how we’ve missed you. And with that shriek in episode one, any concerns the show’s devotees might have had coming into a second series of TV’s critical darling dissipated. Fleabag’s unnamed anti-heroine (Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the show’s creator and writer) is back and she’s... actually kind of got it together. Or at least pretending she’s kind of got it together. Her cafe business is a success, she’s decided to stop sleeping around, instead spending time focusing on bettering herself. But, this is Fleabag and a grin can quickly become a grimace. In series two’s first episode – a dinner setpiece that’s the show’s most theatrical setup yet – Fleabag’s dysfunctional family sit down to dinner with a priest (Andrew Scott). Waller-Bridge’s writing is whittled down to the bone as cutting put-downs and proclamations are spat across the table, ending in two bloody noses and a now well-established, fourth-wall breaking declaration from Waller-Bridge’s character to the viewer: “This is a love story.” Where friendship was the glue that held series one of Fleabag together, faith seems to be at the heart of series two. As WallerBridge’s character fights her feelings for Scott’s sweary, cool priest (his ability to be both utterly charming and utterly smarmy is genius), she’s fighting a different kind of faith with her sister, Claire (Sian Clifford). The sisterly dynamic is simultaneously hilarious and gutting but, most importantly, it’s evolving on from series one. As with Waller-Bridge’s other television project, Killing Eve, in Fleabag there are no ‘strong female characters.’ Instead Waller-Bridge creates a space in which women get to be as pathetic, crude, nasty, gross and hostile as they want – to themselves, to men, to other women. Fleabag’s redemptive angst and postmodern confessionalism is liberating. No wonder she has a thing for the priest. [Katie Goh]

As someone who is neither British nor Irish, this writer’s first encounter with Lisa McGee’s Derry Girls resulted in a certain amount of befuddlement amid the plentiful belly laughs. Yes, it’s a late Troubles-set period piece, but it was still difficult to come to grips with the stark reality of the Catholic/Protestant divide in the titular Northern Irish town of Derry (Londonderry to the ‘Prods’) even at the beginning of the 1990s. Still, it’s that hyper-specific milieu that sets Derry Girls apart from similar rambunctious-teen sitcoms. The jokes fly so fast many are in danger of being lost to previous laughs (and, admittedly, sometimes to accents of limited – for this gal – intelligibility). But it’s the world McGee creates, and the characters inhabiting it, that really shifts this show from good to great. Rubber-faced drama queen Erin, her foul-mouthed, oversexed mate Michelle, pint-sized ‘craic killer’ Clare, space cadet Orla and Michelle’s perpetually confused and abused English cousin James (something of a stand-in for non-initiated viewers) all felt fully formed from episode one of the first series. Their desperation to understand and participate in the workings of the adult world, despite that world making little sense, marries character and place seamlessly. In series two, the show continues using the Troubles as a matter-of-fact backdrop for the girls’ lives, mining pointed humour from potential tragedy while highlighting the absurdity of it all. Derry Girls is also refreshing because it allows teenage girls to be just as wayward, crude, funny, desirous and often dumb as teenage boys have been portrayed since ‘teenagers’ became a concept. Rounded out by a brilliantly game supporting cast of parents and teachers, it won’t please strict acolytes of po-faced, respectable social realism, but those with more – small-c – catholic tastes will find a lot to be devout about. [Michelle Devereaux]

Alan Partridge has always been deeply concerned with status. It wasn’t enough to have his own chat show, he had to establish that it was not “moribund”. He needed to go on a self-flagellating tour of the North in Scissored Isle, while patronising as many people as possible. He was compelled to repeatedly point out the success of his military-based general knowledge quiz show Skirmish. So it’s a stroke of genius for Partridge to begin This Time standing in for the show’s regular presenter John Baskell, only to get the gig full-time following Baskell’s death (and some Partridgeled revelations about the departed). Steve Coogan’s performance is a delight, Partridge visibly growing in unwarranted bravado and ‘I’ve made it’ smugness by the week. His co-host, Jennie Gresham (Fielding), is every inch the ‘proper’ presenter, a simmering mixture of charm, professionalism and irritation. Parodying The One Show’s head-spinning mixture of banal entertainment, celeb patter and ‘serious stories’ almost feels like cheating, but This Time is a perfectly absurd riff on the formula. The set is just slightly too big, leaving Alan spinning on a pin as his links to camera constantly come up short. Leaps from segment to segment are fantastically overdone – a chat with Britain’s latest centenarian runs into news of multiple homicides, followed by Alan’s attempt to stitch up Monty Don in a hidden camera sting. And the further things are pushed, the greater the results. Alan’s face freakishly superimposed on to a schoolboy’s head is a genuinely shocking bit of Chris Morris-style surrealism; Partridge nodding along as his Irish doppelganger breaks into a medley of Republican rebel songs is on another level entirely. This is a show stuffed with laughs, riddled with tension and imbued with the sense that it could all fall to pieces at any moment. In short, it’s classic Partridge. [Peter Simpson]

Currently being broadcast on BBC One and BBC Three, with both series available on iPlayer

Currently being broadcast on Channel 4, with both series available on All4

Currently broadcast on BBC One and available on iPlayer

April 2019

FILM & TV

Review

Introducing Rep Stripped Dundee Rep’s Creative Assistant, Ryan Hay, chats to Jordan Blackwood and Carla Marina Almeida, the people behind the inaugural Rep Stripped, Dundee Rep’s new theatre festival for emerging and established artists

Interview: Ryan Hay and Amy Taylor

No Offence Unplugged

“W

e didn’t want to just look at emerging artists or just find established artists,” explains Rep Stripped’s Director Jordan Blackwood, who along with Producer Carla Marina Almeida, created and programmed the new festival, which takes place later this month. They wanted to create a space for artists at any point in their career to perform work in a strippedback environment – hence the name, stripped.

The programme The festival programme contains relative unknowns standing alongside new works-in-progress from some of Scottish Theatre’s big-hitters, performing as part of the festival’s IN PROGRESS sharings, including Oliver Emanuel and Gareth Williams and the National Theatre of Scotland’s associate company Blood of the Young. Meanwhile, emerging writers such as Kolbrún Sigfúsdóttir and Tandem Writing Collective are represented in the SCRATCH segment of the programme. “We wanted to find a variety of work – in the eventual programme we have achieved this with

artists coming together where they can share ideas and be inspired,” Blackwood explains. The festival boasts around a dozen extracts from a diverse range of plays and disciplines, from theatre, to spoken word, alongside workshops from the likes of the National Theatre of Scotland, BUZZCUT and Scottish Youth Theatre. “We also didn’t want to go for just plays, or just one style of work; devised work, new musicals, puppetry, a real diversity,” Blackwood continues. “It’s offering up something a bit different to the established audience at the Dundee Rep.” The price While the programme was created to allow audiences to see works-in-progress from recognisable names, alongside curtain raisers that might be more challenging, it’s also affordable. “On Saturday 27 April, for example, there’s lots of work on and you can see it all for £12.50,” Blackwood explains. “People can come to just one show, but it doesn’t cost much more for them to see everything else that’s going on.”

Slutty Little Goldfish

A unique opportunity for artists This Festival’s model is new for theatre in Scotland; focusing more on sharing ideas and learning from audiences and other artists, than on presenting the most polished performances. “We’re encouraging collaboration,” says Blackwood, “and we’re pushing the idea that artists are constantly developing at every stage of their careers.” Artists in Scotland have a real appetite for opportunities to put new ideas in front of audiences, to see what people think of their work, and help shape the piece as they take it forward – Carla Marina Almeida points out that, “even artists who didn’t make the final programme contacted us to say that they were happy it’s happening. They were excited by the opportunity.” A collaborative future for theatre Festivals like this are an insight into what kind of work might be coming to Scotland’s stages in full production a few years in the future – in the

applications for the programme this year, Blackwood and Almeida both noticed a theme emerging: a more collaborative, holistic approach to making theatre. “There are a lot more companies making devised work, and being more collaborative in approach,” notes Blackwood. “People are looking at different media for their work, too.” “People are coming with designers and other creators on board even at the application stage, and they’re a part of the whole process, always having an input,” adds Almeida. The Rep Ensemble as they haven’t been seen before There’s a diversity of work within Rep Stripped, and because of its unique programme and prices, the audience can really be a part of the development process, according to Blackwood. “It’s a chance to see those amazing, wellknown Dundee Rep Ensemble performers, but maybe they’ll be writing or designing or directing – it’ll be a way you haven’t seen them before.”

Stage Directions The coming of spring brings with it not one, but two stage adaptations of Greek myths, the Scottish premiere of a long-awaited musical and stories of migration, change and hope Words: Amy Taylor

Achilles

Review

Photo: Brian Hartley

hile Paper Memories – the latest co-production from Platform, Vision Mechanics and Jabuti Theatre – opened at Platform, Glasgow on 29 March, it’s touring around Scotland in April. This highly visual piece of theatre for children aged seven and up combines music, aerial, dance and puppetry to tell a story that’s universal, affecting and very timely. Tali is a refugee girl who arrives in Scotland with her family, desperate to fit in and forget the world they’ve left behind. Told to embrace her new life at the expense of her old one, Tali watches her family try to refuse their past – until her family realise that actually, it’s their memories that make them stronger, and that will keep them together in the long run. Another show that started on 29 March, but is getting included anyway, is Company of Wolves’ Achilles, which opened at Cumbernauld Theatre, and is about to embark on a UK tour. Starring Ewan Downie, this piece combines storytelling, dance and song, reimagining this classic Greek myth and was a sell-out show

THEATRE

at the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The musical adaption of Roald Dahl’s story of Matilda, an extraordinary little girl with an incredible mind, the aptly named Matilda the Musical, opens at the Edinburgh Playhouse on 2 April, and runs until 27 April. With a book by Dennis Kelly and original songs by Tim Minchin, this show has won an astonishing 85 awards since its premiere in 2010. One of the first plays to take to the stage this month is the world premiere of KITH, from Primal Dream Theatre, which runs from the 3 to 6 April at Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh. Combining storytelling, spoken word and poetic staging, this tale of migration and homecoming follows Dani, the son of a woman who fled conflict in the Balkans and found safety in Scotland. But Dani’s mother has kept her story secret, and Dani feels that he doesn’t belong anywhere. When she dies, his world goes into free-fall and he embarks on an odyssey to find out who he is.

THE SKINNY

A Critic’s Guide to Cheap Theatre Tickets T

Words: Amy Taylor Illustration: Jacky Sheridan

heatre tickets are expensive. They’re so expensive that earlier this year, The House of Lords urged the UK government to investigate rising West End Theatre prices after research by The Stage found prices had risen by 60% since 2012. However, while a building of obscenely rich people have a think about why theatre tickets in London are too expensive and if they could maybe do something about it at some point, there are ways that you can find theatre tickets in Scotland for less than you might expect.

Friends schemes A lot of bigger theatres offer so-called ‘Friends Schemes’, where you sign up to be a ‘friend’ of the venue, and in return you can get discounts on tickets, alongside a whole host of other incentives, such as 2 for 1 tickets and further discounts on group bookings, such as ATG’s Theatre Card membership. Friend schemes usually charge an annual fee, and the amount you have to spend depends on the venue.

Previews If you want super cheap tickets, then see if you can get into a show during a preview. What’s a preview? It’s the first few days of a show’s run, typically before the press night, and tickets to these dates are always more affordable. Act swiftly when shows are announced though, because these tickets are snapped up pretty quickly.

New pricing structures Perhaps the most famous affordable ticket is the Citz 50p tickets scheme, where every couple of months they sell theatre tickets for 50p. They’re available for everyone, all you have to do is queue outside the Citizens Theatre on the day they go on sale. Creative Electric, the Leith-based theatre company operate a ‘Pay What You Can’ scheme, where, like Free Fringe shows, the audience make donations as they leave. And UNFIX, an evolving festival of ecological performance, dance, music, film and discussion at CCA, have given autonomy to the audience by letting them decide which price bracket they fit into. Venues, such as the King’s Theatre Glasgow and Edinburgh Playhouse offer base pricing for tickets, where a limited number of tickets for certain performances are much cheaper than normal. If you live near a theatre, then you might be eligible for discounts too. Platform offer a free and lifetime Local Links scheme, which covers a large range of Glasgow east end postcodes local to Platform, where you can get tickets for £4. Meanwhile people living in the Gorbals (G5) postcode can sign up for a free Gorbals Card to get Citz tickets for £2, and £5 panto tickets. Remember, the box office is your friend. Ask about schemes, discounts, special offers. After all, shy bairns get nowt.

“ Go on an’ ask, shy bairns get nowt” Amy Taylor

Concessions Yes, we all know that you can get cheaper tickets if you're a student, senior citizen, or receive Jobseekers Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment and Employment & Support Allowance. Discounts also apply to Young Scot Card holders, members of Equity, BECTU, Stage Directors UK, the Scottish Society of Playwrights and the Musician’s Union. You can also get much more affordable tickets if you’re unemployed, and remember, under 26 schemes will cover you right up until your 27th birthday.

However, age shouldn’t be a barrier, and the Traverse recently expanded their under 26 scheme to include people aged 30 and under, as well as offering £5 tickets year-round to the unemployed i.e. anyone in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance, Employment Support Allowance and Universal Credit (proof is required). Book group tickets Going to the theatre with a bunch of eight or

more friends? Then instead of booking your tickets separately, contact the box office and ask about a group rate, because when you buy lots of tickets at once, you can often get a discount, or a free ticket thrown in. Buying in bulk has its advantages, and the amount you save will depend on the show and the venue, but you could save up to £6 a ticket. Go on an’ ask, shy bairns get nowt.

Opening at Perth Theatre on 5 April is Dogstar Theatre’s The Tailor of Inverness, the universally acclaimed international hit play, written and performed by Matthew Zajac, is touring Scotland for the sixth time during April and May. Based on the life of Zajac’s father, Mateusz, the play originally premiered at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh in 2008. Since then, it’s been performed around the world and is a cry for refugees, for Europe, and for those affected by war everywhere. Scottish Opera Young Company (formerly Connect Company, for performers aged 14-25) is set to return to The Beacon in Greenock (6-7 Apr) to perform one of Gluck’s most popular and enduring works, Orfeo & Euridice, based on the myth of Orpheus. Conducted by new Artistic Director Jonathon Swinard it stars professional singers Daniel Keating-Roberts (The Cabinet of Dr Caligari 2016) as Orfeo and Jessica Leary (Pop-up Opera 2018) as Euridice. A dancer from Dance Studio Scotland at Glasgow Clyde College also joins the cast. If you fancy a classic musical, then Edinburgh Music Theatre’s revival of Sweet Charity at the Church Hill Theatre, Edinburgh, runs 16-20 April. Following dancer Charity Hope Valentine as she searches for love in the strangest places in 1960s New York. As well as featuring enduring musical classics by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields, like Big Spender, Edinburgh Music Theatre’s production will also feature massive dance numbers inspired by Bob Fosse’s original and unmistakable choreography style. Matilda the Musical

theskinny.co.uk/theatre

April 2019

THEATRE

Review

Photo: Manuel Harlan

We all know that theatre tickets are too expensive, so how do you see shows for less? Here’s a quick guide

Euro Visions We speak to Kieran Hodgson as he brings his 2018 Fringe show, ’75, back to Scotland

ecent UK politics seem to have irrevocably divided the nation, with little effort having been made to unite the two sides. An attempt to bring the people together and find common ground through comedy can prove tricky, but Kieran Hodgson’s approach is refreshing in its inclusivity: “I suppose the space that I’m trying to create in the show is one where we’re all blighted by this existential question of Europe, and we’re all in it together regardless of how we feel about it.”

“ [Our European relationship] has been going on for longer than you might think, it’s more complicated than you might think, and maybe we should try and give one another less of a hard time over it” Kieran Hodgson

Hodgson continues: “I’m not much of a preacher when it comes to my comedy shows, so the only thing I try to convey is that this has been going on for longer than you might think, it’s more complicated than you might think, and maybe we should try and give one another less of a hard time over it.” ’75, Hodgson’s fourth solo Fringe show, which he is now touring the UK with, broaches Brexit. But instead of getting too bogged down with Britain’s current relationship with Europe, the show takes us down memory lane with a history of Britain’s attempts to enter

Review

the EU in the 70s. “I had a feeling that the current-day Brexit situation would be liable to these sudden changes, so I thought, ‘Right. I’m not a particularly quick-witted or spontaneous comedian, I’ll do a show that’s just about history.’” However, he admits: “There’s always going to be that instinct in me to spread knowledge, even in a limited way.” ’75 has had the pleasant knock-on effect of imparting knowledge to an audience often new to the facts of 70s British politics. “It’s always been nice when people have come up to me after the show and have said, ’I didn’t know any of that and it was really interesting, and now it’s made me want to read at least a Wikipedia article’ – if not quite the full, published reading list of the show.” The decision to focus on events of the past was not simply to steer clear of controversy. “The political comedy market is crowded so I thought my little thing would be that it’s the history of politics rather than just the politics.” For many this could prove a bit of a feat. “I like the challenge of making a show about something that doesn’t immediately seem funny. In the early drafts of the show, it read sort of like a lecture, and so I had to find ways of making it a bit more personal, a bit more dramatic.” Luckily, Hodgson didn’t need to search far: “I do characters normally, so I had to find a way of making funny characters who people would laugh at regardless.” Hodgson’s record demonstrates a slew of high-energy, character-based shows and performances. Ultimately, ’75 has proven to be much the same: “When you’re working up a show you tend to do it once every couple of weeks so you have that recovery time, and then August comes and I’m obviously in Edinburgh doing it night after night, sometimes twice a night, and I realise ‘Oh heavens, this show is absolutely exhausting.’” Hodgson thrives on creating a show that also aligns with the things he loves most. “I try to be an on-stage hobbyist, but I’m running out of hobbies. And then it gets to, ‘Am I now contemplating picking up crochet just so I can do a show about it?’” He prides himself on being an enthusiast of all things politics and history. “I’m a sucker for parliamentary drama. I was in the car the other day late at night, put the radio on and heard, ‘and now, live from the Commons’ – I love all that.” When it comes to politicians of the 70s, he finds that there is an added attraction: “They’re quite big characters – they tend to have distinct styles

Photo: Matt Stronge

Interview: Yasmin Hackett

and speak in ways that you tend not to hear anymore. I have a fascination with modes of speech and accents that have disappeared, and the 70s is rich with them. We’re very lucky that so much footage has survived from that period, much of which is on YouTube, and I would spend hours listening to these weird and wonderful vowels from not that long ago. I find it fascinating how, within half a century, the common mode of speech within a society can change very radically. It’s accent archaeology, I suppose.” However, he acknowledges that this is not necessarily the norm for people of his own demographic. “It was absolutely a challenge that I faced in writing the show, thinking ‘You’re not as interested as I am in all these personalities from the past.’” But Hodgson relished the opportunity to think outside of the box. Take Charles de Gaulle, the French general and president who was instrumental in initially preventing Britain from joining the EU. “No one really has a working knowledge of what Charles de Gaulle sounds like, so my way around that is to go completely as far away from it as I can. So, my Charles de Gaulle is an impression of Ru Paul. I thought that can be big and silly and modern, whilst still conveying the fundamental point that Charles de Gaulle could be very wilful and domineering in the same way Ru can.” When he isn’t touring, Hodgson is becoming an ever more familiar TV face. Last summer he wrote and starred in Channel 4 Blap, God’s Own

COMEDY

County, a love-letter to the comic’s home county, Yorkshire. “I’d love to take what we did with God’s Own County and extend it. It’s definitely high on my list of priorities.” His proclivity for character comedy is clearly taking him places, as he dips his toe further into the TV world. He also recently secured a regular part on popular sitcom Two Doors Down. “I love it. It’s such a blast working with all those really funny people and having the experience of living in Glasgow for two months a year. I’m just ever so grateful that I get to be a part of it. Before that I’d done lots of guest roles where you just pop in for a morning or an afternoon, and everyone knows everyone else, so you’re just the weird guest guy assuming you’re going to get sacked any minute. It’s nice to have a bit of time to develop really great relationships with the actors and the crew, and to develop the character.” Indeed, character comedy has and will continue to provide a solid foundation for Hodgson’s career. It’s what he’s best at. “It’s not crazy to want to try and incorporate all the things you can do and all the things you can bring. I have things that I love, and I want to share why I love them with people. And to justify to people that I’m not weird is a strong part of that. [The Fringe] is a very crowded marketplace full of very talented people coming up with original ideas, so purely in terms of winning that audience it’s good to be unique in some way, and if my particular interests are part of that, then why not use them?” Kieran Hodgson, ‘75, The Stand, Edinburgh, 16 Apr; The Stand, Glasgow 17 Apr, £13

THE SKINNY

ICYMI Extra! Extra! Stand-up Ashley Storrie gives us the inside scoop on trendsetting newsroom sitcom Murphy Brown

urphy Brown (no relation to Jackie, Gordon or Foxy) was an American sitcom that ran for 10 seasons, with an 11th coming out during the great revival rush of 2018. At times it was the most talked about telly in the world, and I hadn’t heard of it until last week. I say hadn’t heard – I’d heard it

April 2019

referenced a million times, but thought she was a real person and not a decade-defining feminist fabrication – so please excuse my ignorance! Murphy Brown kicks off strong; the pilot opens on a montage of newspaper and magazine covers where we quickly learn that Murphy Brown is in her

40s, fabulous, a revered journalist, and can’t keep a boyfriend. In those 20 seconds we’ve got everything we need to know about Murphy. Boil it down, spit it back out and you’ve got the makings of a hero. Played by the ageless Candice Bergen (paired beautifully with a full-bodied William Shatner in Boston Legal and Miss Congeniality), Brown isn’t on-screen when we first delve into the world of FYI, a fictional news magazine. Instead, she’s being talked about by her colleagues: she’s in rehab, she’s notoriously bad tempered and once stood up Warren Beatty (I had to Google this joke, apparently in the olden days Warren Beatty was like Zac Efron). Also within the first five minutes of episode one there’s a joke about bestiality. It’s edgy and makes me happy.* I watched six episodes in one sitting and loved it. Murphy makes mistakes but she’s a good reporter who fights for the truth and asks the hard questions. In a world of fake news and info wars, I can understand why the 2018 reboot didn’t really take off. It’s too idealistic, watching newscasters fret about the validity of their source. There were a lot of satisfying nuggets in the show; things in the background that I only caught at the last minute and running jokes that give the show a worn and comfortable feel. People pass money to each other in the background of scenes betting on Murphy’s bad behaviour, the patrons at the local pub shout angrily at newcomers to ‘Shut the door’ and Murphy’s got a strange live-in house painter who paints her ceilings like a loutish Michelangelo in dungarees and spats. For a workplace sitcom, it’s incredibly rich.

COMEDY

Words: Ashley Storrie Illustration: Emer Kiely In later seasons, Murphy decides to have a baby and raise it alone. This caused public outcry when it aired, with senators speaking against Murphy Brown and the show’s writers for destroying American family values. At the time, showing a functioning, successful one parent family was controversial. She was a trailblazer, a fist to the glass ceiling.

“ It’s too idealistic, watching newscasters fret about the validity of their source” Watching Murphy Brown, for me, was like meeting my friend’s mum for the first time. If you love 30 Rock, Gilmore Girls, Ally McBeal and Sex in The City then please meet their mumma; she’s a sassy blonde and she’s called Murphy. *Watch the first ever episode of Midsomer Murders while you’re at it, and witness a sassy suspect pause very dramatically in the middle of the word ‘Constable’. That’s the edgiest thing I’ve ever seen. Ashley is currently one of the stars of Up For It on BBC Scotland. Available on BBC iPlayer.

Review

THE SKINNY

Glasgow Music Tue 02 Apr

BROADSEA (THE BELAFONTE + VELVETBOMB)

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

Triple bill of live music at Bloc+.

RETURNING VIDEO TAPES (INTRUSIVE THOUGHT + SUPERCLOUD)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, TBC

Expect a night of art rock, in the sleaziest indie disco around. COSMIC PSYCHOS (MUMMY + GOLDIE DAWN)

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £16.50

Underground band cited as a significant influence on the Seattle grunge scene of 90s. SUNDARA KARMA (WHENYOUNG)

BARROWLANDS, FROM 19:00, £18.70

Sundara means ‘beautiful’ in Sanskrit, and this quartet live up to their blissful name with some epic and anthemic indie rock, gaining comparisons from Arcade Fire to Bruce Springsteen. JULIA JACKLIN

STEREO, FROM 19:00, £11

Aussie singer-songwriter crafting rich Americana. KING NO-ONE

ST LUKE’S, FROM 19:00, £13.20

Yorkshire indie rock quartet.

MARKER STARLING (IAN DANIEL KEHOE)

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £9

The musical guise of Toronto’s Chris A. Cummings, frequently seen playing Melancholy Party Jams on a Wurltizer electric piano, with drum machine accompaniment. ALEX REX

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £8.50

BLACK GRAPE

DEADLY INSCRIPTION

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £28.25

CATHOUSE, FROM 19:00, £7

English rock trio featuring Shaun Ryder, Danny Saber and Kermit. MEDICINE MEN (JOHN RUSH)

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £6

A sound with roots in the early 90s with added psychedelic stomp aimed at the dancefloor. Sure to appeal to the Parka wearing crowd and beyond. MUSE-IC

PIE & BREW, FROM 21:00, FREE

Talented singer-songwriters Nicola Evans and Olivia Ennemoser invite local singers and songwriters to join them every week. NICOLE ATKINS

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £14

American pop-meets-rock singer/songwriter demonstrating a new depth and maturity of late.

Fri 05 Apr DIRTY HARRY

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £14.50

A definitive homage to punk and new wave’s best, Blondie.

CHOONSVILLE (SUB VIOLETS + THE SUPER PUMAS)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £5

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £10 - £12

Crooked and catchy Canadian lot. IN FLAMES

SWG3, FROM 19:00, £23.50

Gothenburg noisy metal unit on the go since 1990. THE LOUNGE KITTENS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £12

Southampton-based trio performing covers of popular songs. ADAM FRENCH

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, TBC

Bowie-influenced singer songwriter born and raised in Congleton. LOW ISLAND

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £11

Woozy vocals and twitchy rhythms FFO Glass Animals, Alt-J and Lo-Fang. THE HUNNA

BARROWLANDS, FROM 19:30, £25

Renowned for their electric live show, the band broke out onto the indie scene with their debut album 100 back in August 2016.

DRAWS CREATURE MASK (LUTHIA + OPHELIA LIES + LAKE PLEASANT)

13TH NOTE, FROM 19:00, £4 - £5

Perth quintet combining indierock and folk with added classical gusto. NILÜFER YANYA (WESTERMAN)

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, FROM 19:00, £12

London’s 23 year-old “effortlessly smooth new soul star” on biggest headline tour to date. WEBSTER & THE VOICES

DRYGATE BREWING CO., FROM 19:30, £5

Fronted by Scottish singersongwriter Tom Webster, the dreamy pop-folk songs and Webster’s voice are complemented perfectly by the soaring backing vocals and killer saxophone lines.

Thu 04 Apr BLACKWATERS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, TBC

Hard rock and metal, hailing from Cardiff. BLACK CAT BONE

SWG3, FROM 19:00, £6

Black Cat Bone are a rock blues band with a lot of soul, hailing from Edinburgh.

April 2019

STEREO, FROM 18:30, £10

A line-up of local acts perform in support of male mental health. MASSAOKE: QUEEN VS DANCING QUEEN

Folk duo made up of twin sisters Catherine and Lizzy. CODA

CATHOUSE, FROM 19:00, £14

Led Zeppelin tribute act. OLIVER/DAWSON SAXON

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £12

ZIGGY ALBERTS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £21

TENEMENT TV DISCOVER TOUR (MARK SHARP & THE BICYCLE THIEVES + BETA WAVES + LAZY ANGEL + QUICHE) BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £7

Tenement TV showcase four upand-coming Scottish bands.

COUNTERFLOWS FESTIVAL 2019 (HUMMING DOGS + TRIPLE NEGATIVE) THE ART SCHOOL, FROM 21:00, £8

Counterflows is a multivenue festival of underground, experimental and international music, providing a platform to an array of radical, off-stream and experimental music. ETTA BOND (KITTI)

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £10

The first signing to Marc Williams’ OddChild Music label. ORGANIC GROOVES

PIE & BREW, FROM 18:00, FREE

A fusion of Glasgow’s finest DJs collaborate with talented vocalists and exceptional musicians to offer something fresh and exciting to the city’s vibrant music scene. KADAWA

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £5 - £8

From ruthless improvisations and hard-driving grooves to intimate, harmonically-rich lullabies, KADAWA’s music is diverse, challenging and surprising.

Sat 06 Apr NEARLY DAN

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £16

The spirit and sound of Steely Dan. THE ROOV (THE SHUTOUTS + PLASMAS)

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £8.80

Four-piece from Lossiemouth who want to make music that could change your life. MELISA KELLY & THE SMOKIN’ CROWS (BLUE MILK + KITTY)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £8

A fast rising soul and blues outfit from Glasgow. LORDS OF THE LAND FESTIVAL

SWG3, FROM 11:00, £39.50

SWG3 host what looks to be the heaviest of metal all-dayers in some time.

THESE NEW PURITANS

ORGANIC GROOVES

BEXEY

LUCY ROSE

SWG3, FROM 19:00, £13.50

PIE & BREW, FROM 18:00, FREE

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £13.20

ST LUKE’S, FROM 19:00, £18

Glasgow-based composer and producer Richard Luke launches his new album.

Mon 08 Apr GIODYNAMICS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 22:30, FREE

Improvised open mic with Jer Reid. SLEAZYOKE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:00, FREE

The big sleazy karaoke sesh with Gerry Lyons. THE QUIREBOYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £26

Spike and co are back for another acoustic show. POM POKO (LIZ LAWRENCE)

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £8

Bella Union-signed Norwegian pop-punk quartet.

ST LUKE’S, FROM 19:00, £11 - £13.20

Tue 09 Apr

COUNTERFLOWS FESTIVAL 2019 (AKLAMA MAKUMBA + THE GHANA FOOTSTEPS)

The brightly coloured songs of Fun Fun Funeral are beautiful collages, always with a little glue overlapping.

The epic late night karaoke party returns for a Queen vs Abba special.

THE ART SCHOOL, FROM 21:00, £6

Counterflows is a multivenue festival of underground, experimental and international music, providing a platform to an array of radical, off-stream and experimental music.

WARD THOMAS

Independent Australian singersongwriter.

RARE AMERICANS (THE VOODOOS)

SUPPORTING MALE MENTAL HEALTH

SWG3, FROM 20:00, £18.50

Wed 03 Apr Infusing funk, jazz and samba with blues, soul and rock.

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £19.50

Multi-platinum Irish band, hitting the UK on another tour.

COUNTERFLOWS FESTIVAL 2019 (DAKIM + (FRASER, ORMSTON))

Alex Neilson’s new solo project is a more stripped down and folk orientated endeavour than his band Trembling Bells. ARI & THE ALIBIS

KEYWEST

New night from Petty Cassettes, presenting some of Glasgow’s finest noisemakers.

Saxon founder members take their own version on the road to play the classics.

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £10

High-energy UK metallers formed back in 2006 by guitarist Ryan Peacock and drummer Colin Campbell.

RICHARD LUKE (SIMEON WALKER) THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £8

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, FROM 20:00, £8

FUN FUN FUNERAL

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

DREAM STATE (TWIN HEART + CRASHES)

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £11

Welsh post-hardcore band, led by vocalist CJ Gilpin. EDWYN COLLINS

MONO, FROM 17:30, FREE

The Edinburgh singer performs a live in-store set. IF AND WHEN (LUNCH BOX)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £5

Newly-formed Glasgow-based covers band, covering anything from modern hits to classic floor fillers. GEKO

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £16.50

THE RUM SHACK, FROM 20:00, £7 - £10

Young rapper hailing from Manchester, who started writing raps at the age of 10.

ART SCHOOL GIRLFRIEND

Moteh Parrott and friends and Nicky Murray out on their joint headline Scottish tour, with local support.

BASS WARRIOR PRESENTS RAS DIGBY

As co-founder of Sir Jessus Sound System, Ras Digby was instrumental in building one of West London’s leading sound systems. THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £8

Atmospheric pop, exploring themes of lust, queer identity, infatuation and disillusionment.

MIC CLARK ACOUSTIC BUTTERFLY

PIE & BREW, FROM 21:00, FREE

Mic Clark is a well-known popular performer on the live music scene in Scotland, joined by his band Acoustic Butterfly. CC SMUGGLERS

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £12

Bedford supergroup CC Smugglers swing by. THE BLUE ARROW HOUSE BAND

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 23:00, £5

The Blue Arrow House Band is a new live jazz collective featuring a rotating line-up of some of the finest young musicians in Glasgow.

Sun 07 Apr LARKIN POE

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £17

Traditional bluegrass-styled offerings from sister duo Rebecca and Megan Lovell, with a selection of original songs and covers sung in the sweetest of vocal harmonies.

HIIP PRIEST PRESENTS: SWINE TAX (PETER CAT) BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £6

MOTEH PARROT (NICKY MURRAY)

THE GLAD CAFE, FROM 19:30, £10

PENELOPE ISLES (QUICHE + POCKET KNIFE)

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £8

Hailing from the Isle of Man via Brighton, Penelope Isles is the collaboration of brother and sister Jack and Lily Wolter. CHRYSTA BELL

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £23

Talented singer/model who started her career in Texas as the lead vocalist for 8 1/2 Souvenirs, and went on to collaborate with David Lynch.

Wed 10 Apr PROPERTY

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

Post-punk with fingers in alt and goth rock; think Wire and Fugazi by way of Bauhaus and Ceremony. KESTON COBBLERS CLUB

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £15

Kent-hailing, toe-tapping, indiefolk five-piece – favourites on BBC 6 Music and winners of the Rebel Playlist. NINA NESBITT

SWG3, FROM 19:00, £12

Half-Swedish, half-Scottish singer-songwriter in possession of a fine technical agility and emotive style. THE TOASTERS (ESPERANZA)

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £13.20

Combining visceral college-rock with angular post-punk, Swine Tax have established themselves as a distinctive and formidable band.

Longstanding ska ensemble formed in NYC by British frontman Rob ‘Bucket’ Hingley back in 1981.

THE FLYING DUCK, FROM 20:00, £7 - £9.50

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £9

THE COOLIES (VITAL IDLES + SNOUT)

New Zealand cult DIY heroes on the Flying Nun label. NORTH ATLAS

THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, FROM 20:00, £6

With cinematic sounds and a thunderous live presence, Scottish alternative trio North Atlas have provided a fresh perspective to the genre. SHAWN MENDES

AK/DK

Hugely popular live band, following a string of widely-praised shows in 2018. RILEY

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £5

20-year-old singer-songwriter based in Glasgow, who cites Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Stevie Wodner among her songwriting influences.

THE SSE HYDRO, FROM 18:30, £39.75 - £68.10

Thu 11 Apr

NOBLE JACKS (MAN OF THE MINCH + JOSIAH & LUDWIG)

Kent four-piece making ‘dirty pop music’.

Canadian singer-songwriter of Vine fame, apparently. THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £11

With the fiddle leading the charge, Noble Jacks are out to take no prisoners.

INDOOR PETS

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:00, £9.35

XERO (THE SUNNY DEVILS)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, TBC

The toon-based quartet bring their powerful groove-based hard rock to Glasgow.

Find full listings at theskinny.co.uk/whats-on

The London-based indie-pop ensemble are back and touring. LUKE SITAL-SINGH

SWG3, FROM 19:00, £15

Promising young London singersongwriter with an innate ability to capture the raw emotion of a moment in song. GZA

SWG3, FROM 19:00, £15

The Wu Tang Clan’s most potent lyrical swordsman, GZA (aka The Genius), performs Wu Tang’s Liquid Swords in full. STRAIGHT ARROWS

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £10

Straight Arrows have honed their fresh, reverb-laden, fuzzed out, psychedelic punk sound into pointed perfection. MARSICANS

STEREO, FROM 19:00, £9

Local indie poppers.

BLEACH HCP (TERRA NOVA)

THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, FROM 19:00, £5

Bleach HCP and Terra Nøva finish their April run of dates.

ELA ORLEANS – CELEBRATING THE RELEASE OF MOVIES FOR EARS: AN INTRODUCTION TO ELA ORLEANS

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, FROM 19:30, £11

Movies for Ears is a retrospective collection of songs by Ela Orleans exploring ten years of recordings spanning 2001-2012. BIG SPRING (CODIST + HEYUP)

A fusion of Glasgow’s finest DJs collaborate with talented vocalists and exceptional musicians to offer something fresh and exciting to the city’s vibrant music scene. ANIMAL SOCIETY

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £5

GLAMOUR AND THE BAYBES

CALUM INGRAM (AVOCET + FLEW THE ARROW)

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £12

FORREST CAN’T RUN

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £8

Five-piece pop-rock band from Edinburgh. LOVE FROM STOURBRIDGE

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £34.25

Stourbridge legends The Wonder Stuff and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin reunite for a co-headline tour. GOOD COP BAD COP

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £11

The new project from Arctic Monkeys’ drummer Matt Helders and Joe Carnall of Milburn. RECORD STORE DAY

MONO, FROM 14:00, FREE

Live music and DJs all day in the name of vinyl celebration.

OUTRIGHT RESISTANCE (RAREBREED + INFERIEM + OF ONE BLOOD) NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:00, £5

BLOXX

Talented singer-songwriters Nicola Evans and Olivia Ennemoser invite local singers and songwriters to join them every week.

Indie-pop band, who played to a huge, elated crowd at 2018’s The Great Escape festival.

Fri 12 Apr

Four-piece acid jazz outfit.

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £16

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £6

CORDUROY

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £15

THESE WOODEN BONES

Have a jig to the punky folk and ska beats of Ferocious Dog.

Indie-folk band These Wooden Bones launch their new EP.

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £22.75

BARROWLANDS, FROM 19:00, £24.75

Classically trained musician whose autobiographical raps have been known to break hearts. YAK (FABRIC BEAR)

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £13.20

A nervy, magnetic and photogenic English noise rock/garage punk trio from London. A MOTE OF DUST

MONO, FROM 20:00, £12 - £14

Former Aerogramme singer Craig B performs a farewell show for his A Mote of Dust project. DEREK J MARTIN

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £6

Ayrshire’s Derek J Martin plays live, following the release of his debut album, Dreaming Out Loud.

AN ORCHESTRAL INTERPRETATION OF DR. DRE 2001

SWG3, FROM 19:00, £20.90

An orchestra playing Dr. Dre’s 2001 album, in case you couldn’t already guess. THE RETURN OF LOWKEY

SWG3, FROM 19:00, £15

The Glasgow launch party of Soundtrack to the Struggle Part 2. PUP

CATHOUSE, FROM 19:00, £14

Word has it, this Toronto-born punk rock band takes its name from an acronym meaning Pathetic Use of Potential. We hope that’s not true. SET IT OFF

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £14

Florida-based orchestral pop rock fivesome. THE SPITFIRES

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £14.85

The Walford-based trio do their fiery and anthemic thing. NICK HARPER: 58 FORDWYCH ROAD

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, FROM 20:30, £14

BEAR’S DEN

London-based trio led by folkster Andrew Davie (formerly of Cherbourg). ORLA GARTLAND

STEREO, FROM 19:00, £8

Young singer/songwriter from Dublin, crafting delicately quirky pop songs. RAZA (LIVE)

THE RUM SHACK, FROM 20:00, £4

Kinetic cosmopolitan electroprog instrumental duo comprising synthesiser and programming guru and trumpeter Gav Thomson and drum ninja Bertrand Auguste Mougel. DMS

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £6

Self-proclaimed super cool basement party from indie project DMS. ABBA A-RIVAL

PIE & BREW, FROM 21:00, FREE

ABBA A-Rival is an explosive show packed with all your favourite ABBA hits, sensational singing and authentic costumes.

Mon 15 Apr JOYCE MANOR

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £16.50

American emo lot, proving that emo bands still exist, if nothing else. ACOUSTIC OPEN MIC W/ GERRY LYONS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 20:00, FREE

Come and see some of the best unsigned artists in the country for free. VÖK

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £9

Icelandic electronic dream-pop trio, led by frontwoman Margrét Rán. ANTEROS

FETTY WAP

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £33.95

The rapper who found success sharing his affections for his trap queen.

FONTAINES D.C. (JUST MUSTARD)

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £8.80

Rousing Dublin post-punks receiving all the hype right now. MR BEN & THE BENS (COP GRAVEYARD + U.S. HIGHBALL)

MONO, FROM 20:00, £7 - £8.50

Melancholic indie pop. JIGS & REELZY

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £12

Fast becoming a huge name in the UK’s rap scene, and with huge collaborations with the likes of French Montana and Demi Lovato, Stefflon Don is the real ting.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 20:00, FREE

STEFFLON DON

SWG3, FROM 19:00, £16

FELIX RABIN

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £10

Throughout the four years he played at Montreux Jazz Club, Félix Rabin played in the bands of Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett and Santana, among many others. DEAN LEWIS (NOAH KAHAN)

SWG3, FROM 19:00, £15

Australian singer-songwriter whose singles have been going platinum in his home country and in the US. SILENT RIVAL

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £8.80

ANNA ST LOUIS (MOLLY LINEN + MEGAN D)

Musical project of Cave In’s Stephen Brodsky, along with Converge drummer Ben Koller, and bassist Nick Cageao.

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £7

Kansas City-hailing singersongwriter touring in support of her debut album, If Only There Was a River. DAWN

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £14

Former member of Danity Kane and Diddy-Dirty Money, Dawn Richard heads out on a solo tour.

Tue 16 Apr

PIGSPIGSPIGSPIGSPIGSPIGSPIGS

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £12.10

A band creating an almighty psychic charge that has blown minds and summoned bedlam in sweat-drenched venues across the UK’s underground and beyond. PORRIDGE RADIO (PUPPY FAT)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £6

Beginning life as Dana Margolin’s sadcore bedroom project in 2012, Porridge Radio are now a postpunk four-piece. THE DANDELION (BLACK CAT REVUE + LO RAYS)

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £11

FKA The Dolly Rocker Movement, The Dandelion weave an old kind of magic.

START TO END: TAYLOR SWIFT – 1989 STEREO, FROM 19:00, £12

A bit of a change in proceedings from the Start to End lot, as this time they’re taking on Taylor Swift’s 1989.

STEAM DOWN (REBECCA VASMANT (DJ)) THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £12

Wed 17 Apr

BROADWAY IN THE BAR

Thu 18 Apr

LA-based trio, each originally hailing from a different country.

Dream-pop group named after the god of unrequited love, Anteros. Aww.

ORAN MOR, FROM 16:00, £15

A first class professional cast sing songs from all your favourite musicals.

Paisley-born classically-trained cellist and songwriter, imbued with Celtic, folk, jazz and blues influences.

STEREO, FROM 19:00, £9

Artist collective from Deptford, South East London.

Trad/folk open floor with Neil McDermott.

Rock “with a commerical edge”, if that’s your thing...?

A tribute to all things funk and soul on tour.

Sun 14 Apr

58 Fordwych Road is an all new show that centres around a living room in a flat in Kilburn, London in the 1960s. TOM WILLIAMS (JOSEPHINE SILLARS & THE MANIC PIXIE DREAMS + HANK TREE)

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £7.50

DIANE CLUCK

THE GLAD CAFE, FROM 19:30, £11 - £14

Crunch Talks is delighted to host the inimitable Diane Cluck, returning to Glasgow for what promises to be a very special concert

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £5 - £8.50

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £8.80

DAVE

JERRY LEGER

Sat 13 Apr

PIE & BREW, FROM 21:00, FREE

FEROCIOUS DOG

Parlophone signed four-piece doing their indie rock thing.

Acclaimed Canadian singersongwriter, praised by the likes of Rolling Stone, Paste and Exclaim! Magazines.

90s-tinged indie rock four-piece from Brighton. MUSE-IC

VANT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £8.80

Singer-songwriter who has contributed vocals to Bombay Bicycle Club tracks, now striking out on her lonesome.

Animal Society is a group of renegade musicians from the darkest corners of Glasgow’s jazz scene, led by Joe Williamson.

The London metalcore outfit bring their devastating brand of riffs, hooks and breakdowns.

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £7.50

Rapper known for being best friend’s with the late Lil Peep.

MICK HARGAN & ANDY MCBRIDE

KING TUT’S, FROM 19:00, TBC

Mick Hargan makes his first full show return to the stage after 18 weeks alongside Glasgow songwriter Andy McBride.

REND THEM ASUNDER (CEREBRAL ENEMA + ANAL FLOSS IS BOSS + SECTION 9)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £5

Brutal/old school death metal from Glasgow and Manchester, bringing evil riffs and unrelenting energy. DEVLIN

SWG3, FROM 19:00, £12.50

Dagenham-born grime MC James Devlin, better known as just Devlin. TEAM PICTURE (HAZED & HOLY LOAF)

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £7

Six-piece bubblegaze-lurch-core outfit who live in the north of England.

BROOKLYN SOUND: MUTOID MAN

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £5

RAMRIDDLZ

BROADCAST, FROM 23:00, £16.50

Ramy Abdel-Rahman, better known by his stage name RAMRIDDLZ, is a Canadian recording artist. CIRCA WAVES

BARROWLANDS, FROM 19:00, £17.60

Liverpool garage-pop quartet taking their cue from the early00s indie scene. BAND OF SKULLS

ST LUKE’S, FROM 19:00, £15

London-based alternative garage rock trio who cemented their musical bonds at college. TAKE THAT (RICK ASTLEY)

THE SSE HYDRO, FROM 18:30, £60.50 - £108.90

Mark, Gary and Howard continue to pretend that Take That still exists without Jason and Robbie, the frauds. AUTHORITY ZERO (GOODBYE BLUE MONDAY + THE OVERBITES)

DRYGATE BREWING CO., FROM 19:00, £10

Since 1994, Authority Zero has brought their unique signature blend of melodic punk and reggae to the masses. ADAM STAFFORD

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £8

Known for his intense and energetic live performances which incorporate soul-pop, post-punk and acapella experimentalism to dizzying effect. MUSE-IC

PIE & BREW, FROM 21:00, FREE

Talented singer-songwriters Nicola Evans and Olivia Ennemoser invite local singers and songwriters to join them every week. MARK HENDRY OCTET

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £5 - £8

One of the most exciting large jazz combos in Scotland.

Fri 19 Apr

HOOVERIII (SHREDD + POT NUDOS)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £7 - £8.50

Psych garage from the US of A. THE DOORS ALIVE

CATHOUSE, FROM 19:00, TBC

The Doors tribute act. MASSIVE WAGONS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £12

British rock band signed to Nottingham-based independent record label Earache Records. CHARLIE & THE BHOYS

BARROWLANDS, FROM 19:30, £22

Another Barrowlands singalong with the Donegal Celtic rockers.

KRYORA (EBB + FORGETTING THE FUTURE + FROM TYRANNY)

IVORY BLACKS, FROM 19:00, £6

Kryora return to Ivory Blacks along with EBB, Forgetting The Future and From Tyranny.

Listings

PUMICE (THISTLE GROUP + YOUNGS FOWLER DUO)

PUPPY

VINTAGE CROP

SCOTLAND CALLING 2019

CROWS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £12

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, TBC

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, FROM 12:00, £35.40

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £9.90

THE OLD HAIRDRESSERS, FROM 20:00, £8 - £10

Formed from the ashes of Jock Norton and Billy Howard’s previous band Polterghost.

TAKE THAT (RICK ASTLEY)

Hard rock band from Glasgow.

New Zealand artist Stefan Neville; long time music maker and publisher of wonky sounds.

THE SSE HYDRO, FROM 18:30, £60.50 £108.90

THE GOOD ARMS

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £6

THE ANTLERS

ST LUKE’S, FROM 19:00, £21.94

Mark, Gary and Howard continue to pretend that Take That still exists without Jason and Robbie, the frauds.

NYC-based indie-rockers fronted by vocalist, guitarist and founder, Peter Silberman.

PIE & BREW, FROM 18:00, FREE

Four fine soloists sharing a mutual love of traditional songs, from both sides of the English and Scottish borders, with playful, boundarydefying musicianship.

ORGANIC GROOVES

A fusion of Glasgow’s finest DJs collaborate with talented vocalists and exceptional musicians to offer something fresh and exciting to the city’s vibrant music scene. SUGARWORK

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £5

Harnessing electronica to the melodic and rhythmic adventure of jazz in a thrillingly and utterly up to date way.

THE BLUE ARROW HOUSE BAND (DAVID BOWDEN) THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 23:00, £5

The Blue Arrow House Band is a new live jazz collective featuring a rotating line-up of some of the finest young musicians in Glasgow.

Sat 20 Apr

THE SENSATIONAL DAVID BOWIE TRIBUTE BAND

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £15

David Bowie tribute act.

MICHAEL TIMMONS (AERIAL)

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £8.80

The Glaswegian fella, once heralded by Steve Lamacq as “A man of some lovely words in song”. RYDER THE EAGLE

MONO, FROM 21:00, FREE

One man French crooner, a la Adam Green. SAMIAM

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £18

Punk rockers from Berkeley, California. BLURRY

CATHOUSE, FROM 19:00, TBC

Blur tribute act.

MOTT THE HOOPLE

BARROWLANDS, FROM 19:00, £47.81

English rockers with strong R’n’B roots, hailing from the glam rock era of the mid-70s. TAKE THAT (RICK ASTLEY)

THE SSE HYDRO, FROM 18:30, £60.50 £108.90

Mark, Gary and Howard continue to pretend that Take That still exists without Jason and Robbie, the frauds.

RED HEARTED VIBRATIONS (LAYAWAY + SWEARWOLVES) THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £8

A four-piece musical outfit from Glasgow. KIRK STRACHAN

PIE & BREW, FROM 21:00, FREE

Kirk Strachan is a singer-songwriter based in Glasgow. LOUISE DODDS QUARTET

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £5 - £8

Scottish jazz vocalist Louise Dodds performs with a band featuring Peter Johnstone on piano, Andrew Robb on double bass and Stephen Henderson on drums.

THE BLUE ARROW HOUSE BAND (SUSIE HUSE)

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 23:00, £0 - £5

The Blue Arrow House Band is a new live jazz collective featuring a rotating line-up of some of the finest young musicians in Glasgow.

Sun 21 Apr GIRLI (ASHNIKKO)

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £8.80

Pop artist and rapper who specialises in hooky bars of a feminist persuasion. Not a sassy songstress, nor a pop princess. SHRUTI ANDROID

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 18:00, FREE

Indian folk reimagined by local legends.

ALTERED SKY (DON’T FORGET RUPERT + OUR CITY FIRES + HYDE PROJECT)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:00, £8

Scottish rockers who’ve gained mass critical acclaim and continue to grow. EDEN’S CURSE

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 18:00, £15

Multi-national melodic metal unit featuring five musicians from four different countries.

Listings

THE FURROW COLLECTIVE (LUKI)

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £12.50

Mon 22 Apr DROPKICK MURPHYS

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £30.75

Geelong rockers whose single Catfish is an ode to the TV series of the same name. ICARUS

SWG3, FROM 19:00, £12.50

Bristol-based brothers Tom and Ian Griffiths specialise in explorative electronic music. STEALING SHEEP

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £11

Three otherworldly Liverpudlian lasses mixing organic and electronic sounds, all medieval synths, hypnotic beats, spiraling whammy guitars, and apocalyptic thunder drones. NOSTRUM GROCERS

STEREO, FROM 19:00, £13.50

The new collaborative group between rappers Milo and Elucid. NOUVELLE VAGUE

ST LUKE’S, FROM 19:00, £30.94

Boston rockers who started playing in the basement of a friend’s barbershop back in the 90s, blending the musical influences they grew up with – punk-rock, Irish folk and hardcore – into one chaotic whole.

Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux’s unique covers project.

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £13.75

MIKE KROL (HAPPY SPENDY)

M HUNCHO

North West London-hailing, balaclava-wearing artist and pioneer of trapwave.

ACOUSTIC OPEN MIC W/ GERRY LYONS

ANDO GLASO: ROSE ROOM (TARAFUL DIN GLASGOW)

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, FROM 20:00, £10.02

A musical journey from Gypsy Trad to Gypsy Jazz. THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £8

Merge Records signed American solo artist. MUSE-IC

PIE & BREW, FROM 21:00, FREE

Come and see some of the best unsigned artists in the country for free.

Talented singer-songwriters Nicola Evans and Olivia Ennemoser invite local singers and songwriters to join them every week.

SEC, FROM 18:30, £68.10 - £107.85

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £6

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 20:00, FREE

JOE BONAMASSA

The American blues rocker returns to Scotland for a stint. MONSTER TRUCK

SWG3, FROM 19:00, £15

Canadian rock outfit, who released their third album in September 2018. PELUCHÉ

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £8

Latin-infused psych girl group Peluche have been attracting attention from the like of Noisey and the Guardian.

BRIAN MOLLEY QUARTET

Brian Molley performs with a full band, demonstrating his awareness of the jazz tradition as he goes.

Fri 26 Apr

CRAIG DAVID PRESENTS TS5

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £28.65

Mr David performs his renowned club/music hybrid show, where he sings and deejays. FOREIGNFOX (ATLAS RUN + HOWLING HOME + SUNSTINGER)

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £8.80

Tue 23 Apr

Four Fifers making music, specifically in the alt-rock vein.

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £12

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, TBC

BEN HAENOW

Croydon-born winner of The X Factor in 2014. JAWS (HONEY LUNG)

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:30, £13.20

The Birmingham rabble-rousers play Tut’s. THE UNDERGROUND YOUTH

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £11

Manchester-based amalgamation of post-punk, psych and shoegaze. THE MIDNIGHT HOUR

ST LUKE’S, FROM 19:00, £19.13

Two of hip-hop’s most accomplished producers bring their new highly acclaimed live project, featuring a nine-piece brass and string section, to the UK for the first time. STANLEY BRINKS & FRESCHARD

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £10

Former Herman Dune man Stanley Brinks play a special co-headline set with pal Freschard, together fusing blues, country and anti-folk.

Wed 24 Apr DJ YODA

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £16

The sampler extraordinaire brings his collaborative project Home Cooking. KLS (HOWIE REEVE)

BLOC+, FROM 21:00, FREE

Power, noise and mathcore. SHY & D.R.S

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:00, £8.80

Scottish hip-hop duo, comprising of Mark James Scott and Darren Scott. THE BURNING HELL (RANDOLPH’S LEAP)

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £12.50

Canadian folk artist Mathias Kom returns to the UK with a full band in tow for this latest round of Burning Hell shows.

Thu 25 Apr MAISIE PETERS

KING TUT’S, FROM 20:00, £9.90

Soak up some of that good old observational pop from the young Brighton-born singer-songwriter.

HANNAH ALDRIDGE BAND

The dark country singer-songwriter plays with her band. DANCING ON TABLES

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £8

Five-piece indie-pop band from Dunfermline. Officially formed in a school cupboard, the boys have spent their last teenage years earning plaudits for their dreamy melodies wrapped up in luring harmonies.

THIS FEELING (GLAS + HANDS OFF GRETEL + MEW REBEL CULT + SNASH)

BROADCAST, FROM 19:00, £7

The indie club night returns with another line-up of hot new bands. TOM WALKER (JADE BIRD)

BARROWLANDS, FROM 19:00, £17.50

The Brit Award-winning Scottish musician comes back to the homeland. SONIC BOTHY ENSEMBLE: IMMEDIATE BUZZ SHIFT

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, FROM 19:30, £4 - £7

Sonic Bothy Ensemble is an award-winning inclusive new and experimental music ensemble that explores, composes and performs in Glasgow and across Scotland. AIMING FOR ENRIKE (VASQUEZ + ADULT FUN)

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £7

Norwegian two-piece instrumental dance act. ORGANIC GROOVES

PIE & BREW, FROM 18:00, FREE

A fusion of Glasgow’s finest DJs collaborate with talented vocalists and exceptional musicians to offer something fresh and exciting to the city’s vibrant music scene. ANNIE BOOTH

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £0 - £7.50

Young singer-songwriter based in Edinburgh. Performing her indierock tinged folk-pop throughout Scotland, she creates melancholic songs with infectious melodies.

Sat 27 Apr SECRET AFFAIR

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £20

Rock, soul and Mod revival act formed way back in 1978 from their previous incarnation as New Hearts.

Hard-styled one-day festival featuring a headline set from The Exploited, amongst a whole host o’ others.

Dublin merrymakers Crows head out on the road, bringing the gloomy and intense hardcore.

POCKET KNIFE

MONO, FROM 21:00, FREE

Lo-fi pop duo.

RAYMOND MEADE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £10

Glasgow singer-songwriter whose uplifting and melodic brand of tuneage is steeped in classic rock’n’roll roots. OUTSKIRTS 2019

PLATFORM, FROM 15:30, £7.50 - £10

Blurring the boundaries between theatre, music, art and film, Platform’s annual celebration of cross art form experimentation, Outskirts returns with a line-up of music, spoken word, film and visual arts. A TRIBUTE TO EDDIE VEDDER

CATHOUSE, FROM 19:00, £12

Does this really need explained? ODDITY ROAD

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £8.80

Oddity Road defy their young age to deliver heavy riffs and tight infectious songs.

SCOTTISH FICTION: MT. DOUBT (JUNIOR BROTHER + PADDY HANNA) THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £6 - £8

An evening of live music as Edinburgh-based musician Mt Doubt brings his dark, pop sound our way. MOTOWN MOMENTS

PIE & BREW, FROM 21:00, FREE

On the last Saturday of every month, Glaswegian starlet Kitty and her hand-picked band play everything from old school Motown and soul, to neo-soul jams. SIMONE FELICE

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 19:30, £17

Simone Felice is a founding member of internationally acclaimed Catskill Mountain-based artists The Felice Brothers, whose early seminal albums remain some of the most influential works of this century’s indie-folk revival. REBECCA VASMANT PRESENTS: RUBY RUSHTON

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 23:00, £5

Tue 02 Apr

PRESSURE VALVE UNPLUGGED

BANNERMANS, FROM 17:00, FREE

Local artists play stripped back sets, before the public get to be the stars at karaoke. BARBE ROUSSE: WELL DRESSED SALAD SINGLE LAUNCH

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £6

Barbe Rousse launch their new single, Well Dressed Salad, into the stratosphere. NEHH PRESENTS… TIM HECKER

SUMMERHALL, FROM 20:00, £20

Few in the field of explorative ambient music have remained as questing and unclassifiable as Canadian composer Tim Hecker. GUMBO

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, TBC

A night of blues, jazz and psychedelic-garage rock.

ROOTSBASE (SEONAID AITKEN)

THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £9 - £11

WHOLLY CATS

Glasgow cowboy jazz, boogie rock’n’roll trio. THE COATHANGERS

SWG3, FROM 19:00, £9

All-female punk trio from Atlanta, made up of Crook Kid Coathanger, Minnie Coathanger and Rusty Coathanger (hence the name). BILK

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 19:00, £8.80

Three-piece Essex-based indie band. THE BLINDERS

ST LUKE’S, FROM 19:00, £13.75

Alt trio hailing originally from Doncaster, now based in sunny ol’ Manchester. PHARIS & JASON ROMERO

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £14

Canadian musicians and celebrated instrument makers singing vibrant duets, writing deadly songs and playing handmade banjos and old acoustic guitars.

Mon 29 Apr

BOOM BRUDDA (MILLHOUSE COLLECTIVE + DIRTY PENNIES)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 19:30, £4

Jazz, blues, hip-hop and soul from the Perth band. ACOUSTIC OPEN MIC W/ GERRY LYONS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 20:00, FREE

Come and see some of the best unsigned artists in the country for free. MESADORM (KIMONA)

THE HUG AND PINT, FROM 19:30, £8

Mesadorm draws influence from contemporary electronic passions, as well as great female songwriters.

A night of dreamy guitar pop with Swimming Tapes and Breathing Panel.

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £6.50

HOME ECONOMICS + LIFE MODEL (FUZZYSTAR)

FRESH PRODUCE PRESENTS (PYRO + AMY LOU + THE PARTY SLOGAN)

Another dynamic line-up from Fresh Produce, headed by punchy Bathgate youngsters Pyro. NEARLY DAN

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 19:00, £18

The spirit and sound of Steely Dan. FALSE BLISS (THE HONEY FARM + MNDMTH)

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, £5 - £7

False Bliss launch their new album. SHINDIG (BUCKWILD + NIPPLES OF VENUS)

BREWHEMIA, FROM 18:00, FREE

A blend of live music, immersive theatre, drinks and dining. Step into the wonder of Brewhemia’s Shindigs

Local talent bring a top night of alt/indie/rock

ALEX REX (JILL LOREAN)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £8

Alex Neilson’s new solo project is a more stripped down and folk orientated endeavour than his band Trembling Bells. SKINNY LISTER

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 19:00, £15

London-based folk group, fronted by Dan Heptinstall and Lorna Thomas, delivering a reliably foot stomping show. THE 565 SPECIALS (ERIC WALES)

THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £6

The 565 Specials showcase one of the most influential decades in the history of music, 1956 to 1965. BREWHEMIAN JAMS (BREWHEMIAN HAUS BAND)

BREWHEMIA, FROM 20:00, FREE

Thu 04 Apr

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 18:00, FREE

Band founded by former Happy Mondays members Shaun Ryder and Bez in 1993, also featuring members of Ruthless Rap Assassins.

Wed 03 Apr

Sun 28 Apr RYAN BINGHAM

SWIMMING TAPES (BREATHE PANEL) SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £8.50

Sat 06 Apr

Midweek evenings just got a whole lot sweeter. Fill your bellies and your ears with some sweet jazz and funk jams.

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £16.50

SHAUN RYDER’S BLACK GRAPE THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 19:00, £27.50

A new live music club dedicated to presenting the very best in folk, trad and roots-based.

Tenderlonious-led jazz quartet Ruby Rushton and their 22a imprint remain at the forefront of the UK jazz scene.

American singer/songwriter who won an Oscar and a Grammy for his songs written for the film Crazy Heart.

Edinburgh Music

JIZZY PEARL LOVE/HATE (UNPLUGGED) BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £13 - £15

Songs and stories from the legendary frontman as he guides you through his musical career. THE LEGENDS OF AMERICAN COUNTRY SHOW

THE QUEEN’S HALL, FROM 19:30, £22

A night of toe-tapping country classics. ARI AND THE ALIBIS

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 19:30, £12

Infusing funk, jazz and samba with blues, soul and rock, Ari and The Alibis have created a memorable ear-catching sound. AMP FIDDLER (LIVE)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 20:00, £10

He mentored J Dilla, and he’s collaborated with Prince and George Clinton; catch a masterclass in funk from Amp Fiddler. HYYTS

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 19:00, £8.80

Much-hyped new Glasgow duo, who simply “play pop music”.

ANTI-MANIFESTO PRESENTS (SLOWLIGHT + BIKE NOTES + LOCKS + NELSON SAVAGE) LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, £5

A fine selection of noisy indie rock bands.

FUNKYTOWN THURSDAYS (BREWHEMIAN HAUS FUNK BAND) BREWHEMIA, FROM 20:30, FREE

Brewhemia invites you to the funkiest Thursday in town.

Fri 05 Apr MAIDEN UNITED

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £14 - £16

Iron Maiden played with classical arrangements featuring some very big names in music BONG (PYRE OF THE EARTH + HARBINGERS DRUM CREW)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, FROM 19:30, £6 - £8

Psychedelic drone doom metal. BLACK CAT BONE

IDKID ( + THE MARX + ADAM GRAVES)

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, TBC

BANSHEE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 19:00, £7

Banshee combine pulsing modern electronics with roaring guitars, pop arrangements and a powerful female vocal fuelled with high energy performances.

CHINA SHOP BULL (BASSFACE + THE FARTING SUFFRAGETTES + BRUK)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, FROM 21:00, £7.25

The Leeds scamps bring their unique brand of ska-rave-rockrap back to Scotland, as in yer face as ever. GUNS 2 ROSES

THE HIVE, FROM 18:00, £10

The only Guns N’ Roses tribute to perform with four different Guns N’ Roses members.

SOUNDHOUSE: MOISHE’S BAGEL (DAVID MACGREGOR)

TRAVERSE THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £15

An intoxicating, life-affirming mix of Eastern European dance music, Middle Eastern rhythms and virtuoso performances. LED ZEPPELIN MASTERS

USHER HALL, FROM 19:30, £33 - £49.50

Australia’s celebrated live concert event, Stairway To Heaven: Led Zeppelin Masters celebrate the 50th anniversary of the band’s debut album. THE UNDERGROUND VAULT (PETRA TAYLOR AND TUFF SUNSHINE)

WEE RED BAR, FROM 19:00, £6

A band that formed in 2016 with the primary goal of helping to bring British rock back to the forefront of the music industry. CHRIS SHIFLETT

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 19:00, £12.50

The Foo Fighters lead guitarist tours his solo album. FOLDA

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 19:00, £8

CC SMUGGLERS

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 19:00, £12

Bedford supergroup CC Smugglers swing by. LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, TBC

Double headline show to promote the split 7” single Idiots / Real Estate.

THE BIG BLUESY BRUNCH (BOURBON STREET 5)

BREWHEMIA, FROM 10:00, FREE

It’s Big, it’s bluesy and full of brunch goodness. Classic blues paired with Bloody Mary’s and stacks of pancakes.

SOULFUL SUNDAYS (VOICE OF THE TOWN + THE SUNSHINE DELAY)

BREWHEMIA, FROM 14:00, FREE

A unique blend of entertainment from full choirs to barbershop quartets, and some sweet soul music to end the night.

Mon 08 Apr NOAH LEHRMAN

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £5

American singer songwriter makes his Bannermans debut SOUNDHOUSE: LIZABETT RUSSO

TRAVERSE THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £11

Big dose of folk for you from goosebump-inducing Lizabett Russo.

MOTEH PARROT (NICKY MURRAY)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £10

Moteh Parrott and friends and Nicky Murray out on their joint headline Scottish tour, with local support. EILIDH STEEL AND MARK NEAL

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, £8

Playing traditional music and song strongly influenced by the music from Argyll and the West Coast of Scotland.

Tue 09 Apr

PRESSURE VALVE UNPLUGGED

BANNERMANS, FROM 17:00, FREE

Local artists play stripped back sets, before the public get to be the stars at karaoke.

CARO & EMMA (OLIVIA AWBREY + CHLOE HAWES)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, FROM 19:30, TBC

Caro draws influence from jazz and folk, while Emma uses her extensive experience in contemporary and classical music to bring a unique colour to the songs. DMA’S

USHER HALL, FROM 19:00, £21

AUTHOR & PUNISHER (ÚIR)

SUMMERHALL, FROM 20:00, £14

Author & Punisher bring their special brand of doom metal to Edinburgh. A robotic experimentation in industrial metal, noise, doom and drone. NATHAN BALL

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 19:00, £9

Nathan Ball’s work fuses classic songwriting and an eagerness to experiment and push sonic boundaries.

KAPITAL PROMOTIONS PRESENTS (THE SHAN + JIM THREAT AND THE VULTURES + THE KRYSS TALMETH EXPERIENCE) LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, TBC

Three of Edinburgh’s best bands come together to make the greatest triumvirate since the days of Caeser.

FUNKYTOWN THURSDAYS (BREWHEMIAN HAUS FUNK BAND) BREWHEMIA, FROM 20:30, FREE

THE LURKERS (SHOCK & AWE)

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £10 - £12

Bluegrass, folk and rebel punk.

SATANIC MALFUNCTIONS (PROLEFEED + DANIEL WAX-OFF + AT THEIR MERCY + BRAIN ANGUISH + FATAL COLLISION) HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, FROM 19:30, £6

Hardcore punk band from Scarborough.

WILKO JOHNSON (GLENN TILBROOK)

THE QUEEN’S HALL, FROM 18:30, £32

The inimitable guitarist and founding member of Dr. Feelgood returns to the live circuit with a UK headline tour, following his (not actually) farewell tour after his diagnosis with terminal cancer. RETRO VIDEO CLUB

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £10

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, TBC

THE METATRONS

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £6

Fuzz punk pop outfit lay waste to Bannermans

THE BIG BLUESY BRUNCH (12 BAR BREWS)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 19:30, £23

LAKYOTO

It’s Big, it’s bluesy and full of brunch goodness. Classic blues paired with Bloody Mary’s and stacks of pancakes.

Four-piece electronic pop band from Edinburgh, formerly known as SHVLLOWS.

Sun 07 Apr

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, TBC

Special intimate show by Whitesnake/The Dead Daisies guitarist & Montrose frontman

Welsh post-hardcore band, led by vocalist CJ Gilpin.

THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £9 - £11

Talented singer/model who started her career in Texas as the lead vocalist for 8 1/2 Souvenirs, and went on to collaborate with David Lynch.

BURNING RAIN (ACOUSTIC)

DREAM STATE

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £11

Scottish indie at its finest.

ROOTSBASE (IONA FYFE)

CHRYSTA BELL

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £17 - £20

COLT48 (10 GUAGE)

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £7 - £10

Alternative two piece bring the rock to Bannermans for a headline show.

Nostalgic garage pop straight from the heart of Newtown in Sydney.

BREWHEMIA, FROM 18:00, FREE

BREWHEMIA, FROM 10:00, FREE

Thu 11 Apr

Fri 12 Apr

Wed 10 Apr

A blend of live music, immersive theatre, drinks and dining. Step into the wonder of Brewhemia’s Shindigs

BREWHEMIA, FROM 20:00, FREE

Midweek evenings just got a whole lot sweeter. Fill your bellies and your ears with some sweet jazz and funk jams.

BREWHEMIA, FROM 20:00, FREE

Get cosy with the featured artists on the sofa every Monday night from 8pm.

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, £5

SHINDIG (HIGH FADE + RADIO PACHUCO)

BREWHEMIAN JAMS (BREWHEMIAN HAUS BAND)

Brewhemia invites you to the funkiest Thursday in town.

A new live music club dedicated to presenting the very best in folk, trad and roots-based.

The psychedelic prog rockers return to the Depot.

LEITH THEATRE, FROM 19:00, £8

Unorthodox Events and Leith Theatre Trust present the inaugural Leith Theatre – Foyer Sessions fundraiser, a night of intimate acoustic performances.

PLECTRUMS & PICKERINGS (VENUS AS A BOY)

Folda create their own brand of dark electronic pop. LES MANTEEZ (SEVENPENNY NIGHTMARE)

FOYER SESSIONS #1 (ADAM THOMPSON + MT. DOUBT + GUS HARROWER)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £3

HONOURS (DICTATOR)

Promoting the release of Honours’ new single. For fans of Johnny Marr, Manic Street Preachers, The Cribs and Radiohead.

ADAM STAFFORD (STEPHEN MCLAREN + ERRANT BOY + SHARDS)

Known for his intense and energetic live performances which incorporate soul-pop, post-punk and acapella experimentalism to dizzying effect.

SHINDIG (JED POTTS & THE HILLMAN HUNTERS + MATT GLOSS & THE EMULSIONS )

BREWHEMIA, FROM 18:00, FREE

A blend of live music, immersive theatre, drinks and dining. Step into the wonder of Brewhemia’s Shindigs

Sat 13 Apr

ZAL CLEMINSON’S SIN DOGS

BANNERMANS, FROM 20:00, £15 - £17

The mighty guitarist from 70s rockers The Sensational Alex Harvey Band is back with brand new material and a brand new band. LUKE SITAL-SINGH

THE CAVES, FROM 19:00, £16.50

Promising young London singersongwriter with an innate ability to capture the raw emotion of a moment in song.

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 19:30, £9

Black Cat Bone are a rock blues band with a lot of soul, hailing from Edinburgh.

THE SKINNY

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 19:30, £16

THE URBAN VOODOO MACHINE

SOULFUL SUNDAYS (THE ACCIDENTALS + ARI & THE ALIBIS)

EDINBURGH JAM GROUP

A unique blend of entertainment from full choirs to barbershop quartets, and some sweet soul music to end the night.

Shadowy ne’er do wells’ hailing from London, led by Norwegian born songwriter and frontman Paul-Ronney Angel. THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 18:30, FREE

The Edinburgh Jam Group are back at The Voodoo Rooms to see our all time favourites and some new up-and-comers. THISTLEHURST (SNAKESKIN SHOE REVIEW)

WEE RED BAR, FROM 19:00, £5

East Lothian’s number one blues harmony rock group. RETRO VIDEO CLUB

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £10

Scottish indie at its finest. LOWKEY

SUMMERHALL, FROM 19:00, £15

Hip-hop activist Lowkey makes a triumphant return to the live scene off the back of Ghosts of Grenfell, a devastating event that he witnessed first hand.

WIDE DAYS – FESTIVAL TAKEOVER (ALLIGATOR + CALVA LOUISE + CARA ROSE + EARTH WIRE + LUNIR + MAIN INGREDIENT + RASCALTON + ROE) LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 16:00, £12

Three of Scotland’s best festivals, Electric Fields, Kelburn Garden Party and Tenement Trail, curate a packed line-up. WIDE DAYS – FESTIVAL TAKEOVER

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 16:00, £10.79

Three of Scotland’s best festivals, Electric Fields, Kelburn Garden Party and Tenement Trail, curate a packed line-up.

RECORD STORE DAY AT VOXBOX 2019

ST VINCENT’S CHAPEL, FROM 11:00, FREE

VoxBox move their RSD celebrations over to St Vincent’s Chapel this year, with Aidan Moffat & RM Hubbert and SHHE already confirmed to perform. KOUK

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, £5 - £7

Mixing a blend of classic hip-hop and rap with elements of R’n’B, soul, grime and Afro beats. JOHN EDGE & THE KINGS OF NOWHERE

BRIG BELOW, FROM 20:00, £6

John Edge & The Kings of Nowhere provide an energetic live show with songs about love, life, death and all else in between. SHINDIG (HIFI + ARI & THE ALIBIS)

BREWHEMIA, FROM 18:00, FREE

A blend of live music, immersive theatre, drinks and dining. Step into the wonder of Brewhemia’s Shindigs

BREWHEMIA, FROM 14:00, FREE

Mon 15 Apr LOCK HORNS

BANNERMANS, FROM 20:00, £5

Progressive metal from Ireland. SOUNDHOUSE: BRIAN MOLLEY QUARTET

TRAVERSE THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £11

Brian Molley performs with a full band, demonstrating his awareness of the jazz tradition as he goes. MEG LAWRENSON (NOAH BROWN)

WEE RED BAR, FROM 19:00, FREE

Meg Lawrenson and her band blend catchy pop top lines and intimate and repeatable lyrics. HANNAH MCGARRY (THE ANTHOLOGY’S)

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, TBC

An evening of indie rock’n’roll.

PLECTRUMS & PICKERINGS (VENUS AS A BOY)

BREWHEMIA, FROM 20:00, FREE

Get cosy with the featured artists on the sofa every Monday night from 8pm.

Tue 16 Apr

PRESSURE VALVE UNPLUGGED

BANNERMANS, FROM 17:00, FREE

Local artists play stripped back sets, before the public get to be the stars at karaoke. IG:NITE PRESENTS: SEAN SHIBE

THE CAVES, FROM 19:00, £12

Sean Shibe is “one of the foremost guitarists” of his generation.

Free music all day from acoustic to blues and rock. EUREKA MACHINES (POWDERKEG)

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £10 - £12

The Leeds-based pop-rockers take to the road. CORDUROY

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 19:30, £15

Four-piece acid jazz outfit.

THE TOASTERS (CHANGO MUNKS)

WEE RED BAR, FROM 19:00, £8

Longstanding ska ensemble formed in NYC by British frontman Rob ‘Bucket’ Hingley back in 1981. RETRO VIDEO CLUB

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £10

Scottish indie at its finest.

YANNIS AGGELAKAS & 100°C

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 19:00, £16.50

Greek singer, songwriter and poet, best known as the former lead singer of the Greek rock band Trypes. MIXED SIGNALS (AVU)

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, £5 - £7

Mixed Signals join forces with AVU to provide a night of the most exquisite atmospheric experimentation and sound hypnosis.

THE BIG BLUESY BRUNCH (BOURBON STREET 5)

BREWHEMIA, FROM 10:00, FREE

It’s Big, it’s bluesy and full of brunch goodness. Classic blues paired with Bloody Mary’s and stacks of pancakes.

April 2019

STANLEY BRINKS & FRESCHARD (HARDSPARROW)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, FROM 20:00, £11

Former Herman Dune man Stanley Brinks play a special co-headline set with pal Freschard, together fusing blues, country and anti-folk. THE NIGHTINGALES

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 19:00, £15

Post-punk outfit originally formed by former members of The Prefects.

TENEMENT TV TOUR (WALT DISCO + BETA WAVES + ZOE GRAHAM + LIZZIE REID) SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £7

Killer local band launch their new single, Diamond Youth. DIANE CLUCK (FAITH ELIOTT)

ST VINCENT’S CHAPEL, FROM 20:00, £8 - £12

Crunch Talks is delighted to host the inimitable Diane Cluck, returning to Edinburgh for what promises to be a very special concert

DAGS! (PLEASE,BELIEVE + WOOLEN)

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, TBC

A European DIY emo/indie/punk rock party. ROOTSBASE (DANNI NICHOLLS)

THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £9 - £11

A new live music club dedicated to presenting the very best in folk, trad and roots-based. FELIX RABIN

Throughout the four years he played at Montreux Jazz Club, Félix Rabin played in the bands of Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett and Santana, among many others. PORRIDGE RADIO (MOONSOUP + GIFT HORSE)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, FROM 20:00, £6

Beginning life as Dana Margolin’s sadcore bedroom project in 2012, Porridge Radio are now a postpunk four-piece. JAMMIN’ AT VOODOO

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 21:00, FREE

Monthly Live Jam Session with some of Scotland’s leading musicians playing lounge grooves from many genres. ARCHIE FAULKS

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £8

Singer-songwriter Archie Faulks playing as part of his headline UK tour. PIGSPIGSPIGSPIGSPIGSPIGSPIGS

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 19:00, £12

A band creating an almighty psychic charge that has blown minds and summoned bedlam in sweat-drenched venues across the UK’s underground and beyond. MYLES MANLEY (PAL + COMA CAT + JAMES METCALFE)

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, TBC

All things punk, experimental pop and riot grrrl.

BREWHEMIAN JAMS (BREWHEMIAN HAUS BAND)

BREWHEMIA, FROM 20:00, FREE

Midweek evenings just got a whole lot sweeter. Fill your bellies and your ears with some sweet jazz and funk jams.

BREWHEMIA, FROM 18:00, FREE

THE BIG BLUESY BRUNCH (12 BAR BREWS)

BREWHEMIA, FROM 10:00, FREE

OPEN MIC

Free music all day from acoustic to blues and rock. JED POTTS & THE HILLMAN HUNTERS

THE QUEEN’S HALL, FROM 19:00, £21.50

Fri 19 Apr

BLACKMORE’S BLOOD

BANNERMANS, FROM 20:00, £10 - £12

Tribute to all things Ritchie Blackmore by actual relations to the great man. JOSEPH MALIK

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 19:30, £11

Out Of The Ordinary presents Joseph Malik, Diverse 2 Live with the Easter Road Northern Soul Band featuring The Bevvy Sisters. JAMES MADDOCK

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 19:30, £15

PRESS CLUB (PUPPY FAT + NASARI)

Hard-hitting Aussie garage-rock receiving praise overseas from Radio One and Kerrang! NEHH PRESENTS… SAMANTHA CRAIN + HAMISH HAWK

SUMMERHALL, FROM 20:00, £10

An intimate evening with two songwriters from either side of the pond, Samantha Crain and Hamish Hawk. E. B. THE YOUNGER

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 19:00, £13.50

Solo musical project of Eric Brandon Pulido, of Midlake fame. THE ORANGE CIRCUS BAND (JACK HINKS & FIONA LIDDELL)

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, £5

Expect wild playing, beautiful harmonies and boundless energy guaranteed to raise the roof and warm the hearts. SHINDIG (JED POTTS & THE HILLMAN HUNTERS + HARDCORE HORNOGRAPHY)

BREWHEMIA, FROM 18:00, FREE

A blend of live music, immersive theatre, drinks and dining. Step into the wonder of Brewhemia’s Shindigs

Sat 20 Apr

CHILDREN ON STUN (BERLIN BLACK)

BANNERMANS, FROM 20:00, £10

The legendary goth rockers play a dark set in Edinburgh. NOEL GALLAGHER’S HIGH FLYING CARPETS (THE JOHN SQUIRE EXPERIENCE)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 18:45, £11.25

Tribute to Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. KROW (HOUDINI SAID NO + MINCHES)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, FROM 19:00, TBC

Edinburgh-based punk EDM group Krow play their unique and theatrical brand of music. DELTA MAINLINE

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 19:00, £8

The alternative Edinburgh ensemble ride their own sonic wave of lush instrumentation and layers of psychedelic goodness – creating a hugely textural and almost space-age sound as they go.

AGP: HOLY MOLY & THE CRACKERS (EMME WOODS) SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £12

Combining a love of traditional folk music with the more rocky side of things; think Gogol Bordello, Cold War Kids and Jack White.

NEHH PRESENTS… THE SUN RA ARKESTRA

Spectral electronics and dancefloor beats with a distinct Celtic vibe.

SUMMERHALL, FROM 19:30, £23

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 19:00, £25

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, £5 - £10

The singer-songwriter stops by on his tour.

American singer-songwriter Amber Cross visits the UK to bathe us in gorgeous folk.

Sun 21 Apr BANNERMANS, FROM 15:00, FREE

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, FREE

LAKE STREET DIVE

Free country band formed in Boston, taking on multiple influences from jazz, Motown and various other genres. PELUCHÉ

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £8

Latin-infused psych girl group Peluche have been attracting attention from the like of Noisey and the Guardian.

THE BIG BLUESY BRUNCH (BOURBON STREET 5)

BREWHEMIA, FROM 10:00, FREE

It’s Big, it’s bluesy and full of brunch goodness. Classic blues paired with Bloody Mary’s and stacks of pancakes.

SUNDAY SINNERS - TAKE ME TO CHURCH (PHONIEX CHOIR + MAJOR LOVE & THE BREWHEMIAN CREATIVE CLIQUE)

TERRY RILEY + GYAN RILEY

Full-length programme of Terry Riley’s music: intricate and often improvisational structures containing elements of minimalism, jazz, ragtime and North Indian raga. EWAN MACINTYRE BAND (ALEX AULDSMITH)

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, £8 - £10

Cowboy campfire sounds immersed in soulful attire. Celtic grooves meets jazz bar crooning. BREWHEMIAN JAMS (BREWHEMIAN HAUS BAND)

BREWHEMIA, FROM 20:00, FREE

Midweek evenings just got a whole lot sweeter. Fill your bellies and your ears with some sweet jazz and funk jams.

Thu 25 Apr

A RITUAL SPIRIT + TURBYNE + KILONOVA + ASHEN REACH (TURBYNE + KILONOVA + ASHEN REACH) BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £6

A night of four metal to the masses Bloodstock performers. DANCING ON TABLES

THE CAVES, FROM 19:00, £8.80

A night of live music, drag, sinful entertainment and enough Bloody Mary’s to make the choir scream Amen!

Mon 22 Apr

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 19:30, £10

BREWHEMIA, FROM 14:00, FREE

SOUNDHOUSE: FURROW COLLECTIVE

TRAVERSE THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £11

Alasdair Roberts, Emily Portman, Lucy Farrell and Rachel Newton share a mutual love of traditional songs, from both sides of the English and Scottish borders, with playful, boundary-defying musicianship. CAPSAICIN

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £5

Four-piece band from Stirling, building a reputation around their hometown for their formidable live shows.

PLECTRUMS & PICKERINGS (VENUS AS A BOY)

BREWHEMIA, FROM 20:00, FREE

Get cosy with the featured artists on the sofa every Monday night from 8pm.

Tue 23 Apr

THE CREEPSHOW (MELTDOWNZ + BUZZBOMS + DAN DISMAL)

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £12 - £16

Country-tinged psycho-punk rock ‘n’ roll group from Toronto. RICHARD ASHCROFT

USHER HALL, FROM 19:00, £35.75 - £52.25

Former frontman of The Verve, continuing to ride the solo wave. What a lucky man. SAIKO SHOWCASE (HEYUP + LO RAYS + KENDAMA + BOOK KLUB + NÜ CROS)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £6

Saiko Magazine presents a showcase of some of the best new artists in Scotland. OVERLAPS

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, TBC

Experimental jam sessions with special guests. ROOTSBASE (TWELFTH DAY)

THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £9 - £11

A new live music club dedicated to presenting the very best in folk, trad and roots-based.

Wed 24 Apr

TEENAGE WEREWOLVES (DR DIABLO & THE RODENT SHOW) BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £13.50

Ultimate tribute to The Cramps and a spooktacular 3D event. PAPA ROACH

USHER HALL, FROM 18:00, £36.85

The Californian rockers bring the nu-metal nostalgia, as bloody per.

Find full listings at theskinny.co.uk/whats-on

AMBER CROSS SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, TBC

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £6

Slester are the newest addition to Scotland’s hip-hop scene. They launch their new single, The Sun’s Still Missing.

The Sun Ra Arkestra, now under the able direction of altosaxophonist Marshall Allen, returns to Edinburgh.

More intimate and electric blues from Potts and his merry band.

ROBERT LANE

SLESTER: THE SUN’S STILL MISSING SINGLE LAUNCH

It’s Big, it’s bluesy and full of brunch goodness. Classic blues paired with Bloody Mary’s and stacks of pancakes.

Mega line-up for Tenement TV’s Discover Tour. Catch Walt Disco Djing after.

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £6

KONSI

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £10 - £12

OPEN MIC

A blend of live music, immersive theatre, drinks and dining. Step into the wonder of Brewhemia’s Shindigs.

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £5

Wed 17 Apr

BANNERMANS, FROM 15:00, FREE

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £10 - £12

Ex-Reef guitarist Kenwyn House’s psych rock outfit.

Alternative country godfather, and Giant Sands frontman.

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 19:30, £15

THE BIG BLUESY BRUNCH (12 BAR BREWS)

Sun 14 Apr

SHINDIG (HIGH FADE + HARDCORE HORNOGRAPHY)

GOLDRAY

The songwriter’s songwriter, James Maddock has built his acclaimed legacy on humbly honoring purity of expression.

HOWE GELB

BREWHEMIA, FROM 10:00, FREE

It’s Big, it’s bluesy and full of brunch goodness. Classic blues paired with Bloody Mary’s and stacks of pancakes.

Thu 18 Apr

ANGUS MUNRO

YOKO PWNO (JACKAL TRADES)

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 19:00, £7.70

REFUGEE BENEFIT (THE PRIMEVALS + STONED HOLY ROLLERS + THE LATE PIONEERS) LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, TBC

The 26th benefit gig, organised by Solidarity with Displaced Humans to raise funds for Re-Act, Refugee Action - Scotland and World Care Foundation. SHINDIG (BECKY COLE & DAVID BURNS + BACK CHAT BRASS)

BREWHEMIA, FROM 18:00, FREE

A blend of live music, immersive theatre, drinks and dining. Step into the wonder of Brewhemia’s Shindigs

Sat 27 Apr

THE DARJEELING FEELING

WEE RED BAR, FROM 19:00, £3 - £5

The four-piece folk-rocking, tea-fuelled Darjeeling Feeling return from their travels in the Multiverse, armed with harmonicas, crash cymbals and their debut album. BANNERMANS, FROM 20:00, £10 - £13

The spirit of Rush (Rush tribute).

GEORGE: CELEBRATING THE SONGS AND MUSIC OF GEORGE MICHAEL

FESTIVAL THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £30 - £49.50

A celebration of the songs and music of George Michael, featuring Rob Lamberti and the National Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. FOO FIGHTERS GB

THE HIVE, FROM 19:00, £10

The world’s leading Foo Fighters tribute act. NORTHERN STREAMS 2019 – SATURDAY EVENING CONCERT & CEILIDH (KATA + THE NORTHERN STREAMS CEILIDH BAND)

THE PLEASANCE, FROM 19:30, £10 - £12

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 19:00, £22.50

TEN FE

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £6

TOYAH

80s icon Toyah Wilcox performs a selection of ‘hits’. SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £9

Ten Fe make indie folk earworms layered with hazy synths and their tunes have racked up hundreds of thousands of plays on Spotify.

TUFLAMENCO PRESENTS (AGUSTITOS GRANDES CARAPAPAS) LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, TBC

Bossa-nova, Flamenco, Scottish traditional folk and a little bit of everything else.

FUNKYTOWN THURSDAYS (BREWHEMIAN HAUS FUNK BAND)

HANDS OFF GRETEL (THE SHAN + MOTHER EAT MOTH)

THE BIG BLUESY BRUNCH (BOURBON STREET 5)

BREWHEMIA, FROM 10:00, FREE

It’s Big, it’s bluesy and full of brunch goodness. Classic blues paired with Bloody Mary’s and stacks of pancakes.

SOULFUL SUNDAYS (VOICE OF THE TOWN + THE SUNSHINE DELAY)

BREWHEMIA, FROM 14:00, FREE

A unique blend of entertainment from full choirs to barbershop quartets, and some sweet soul music to end the night.

Mon 29 Apr

SOUNDHOUSE: MAY ERLEWINE

TRAVERSE THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £11

‘Michigan’s Songbird’, May Erlewine has won many fans the world over, over the course of 15 albums. PLECTRUMS & PICKERINGS (VENUS AS A BOY)

BREWHEMIA, FROM 20:00, FREE

Get cosy with the featured artists on the sofa every Monday night from 8pm.

Dundee Music Thu 04 Apr

THE WEDDING PRESENT

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, FROM 19:00, £22

BREWHEMIA, FROM 10:00, FREE

BREWHEMIA, FROM 20:30, FREE

Brewhemia invites you to the funkiest Thursday in town.

Fri 26 Apr

Sun 28 Apr OPEN MIC

Fri 05 Apr

THE BLOOD RED MOON (SEAS, STARRY + DRAWS CREATURE MASK + CAIRNGORMS YOUNG TEAM) CONROY’S BASEMENT, FROM 19:30, £5 - £6

OLIVER DAWSON’S SAXON

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, FROM 19:00, £12

Fill your head with heavy metal thunder.

TENEMENT TV DISCOVER TOUR (BETA WAVES + WALT DISCO + ALLIGATOR + CRYSTAL)

Sun 07 Apr GET BACK

CLARKS ON LINDSAY STREET, FROM 15:00, £7

An afternoon dedicated to the music of The Beatles with a live set from local legends Ringer.

BANNERMANS, FROM 21:00, FREE

FESTIVAL THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £25

Classic rock covers from the 60s to present day.

Wed 10 Apr

EDDI READER

Reader weaves her velvety vocal palette around a selection of traditional and contemporary songs.

NORTHERN STREAMS 2019 – FRIDAY EVENING CONCERT (CAOLMHAR + JOCELYN PETTIT + RAV SIRA + ELLEN GIRA) THE PLEASANCE, FROM 19:30, £10 - £12

In its 16th year, the Northern Streams Festival continues to bring award-winning and emerging Nordic and Scottish artists to Edinburgh.

CRANACHAN

LOYLE CARNER

THE CAVES, FROM 19:00, £17.50

The MC from South London stops off with more stirring, confessional hip-hop. HANNAH ALDRIDGE (GOAT ROPER RODEO BAND)

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 20:00, £13

THE VOODOO ROOMS, FROM 19:30, £7

With a dark, sultry, soulful voice and sounds ranging from blues in the Mississippi Delta to the dusty, Dixieland jazz sounds from New Orleans, Hannah Aldridge leaves no inspiration or influence untapped.

COLUMBIA

Baltic Crossing use their strong affinity for old dance music and respect for each others traditions to bring a new vibrant energy to the folk music of Europe.

SOULACOASTER

Soulacoaster’s 12-piece band will have the dancefloor jumping to the greatest soul hits from Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Sam & Dave, Tina Turner, The Jackson 5 and many, many more. WEE RED BAR, FROM 19:00, £5

Oasis tribute act. NOUVELLE VAGUE

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 19:00, £30.25

Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux’s unique covers project.

SOUNDHOUSE: BALTIC CROSSING

TRAVERSE THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £11

EYRE LLEW (L-SPACE)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 19:00, £8

Eyre Llew play a string of intimate shows to celebrate the release of a new split EP collaboration they recorded with their South Korean tour exchange friends.

WHO’S NEXT

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, FROM 20:00, £10

Europe’s premier tribute to The Who.

Tue 23 Apr EDDI READER

THE GARDYNE THEATRE, FROM 19:00, £27.50

Reader weaves her velvety vocal palette around a selection of traditional and contemporary songs.

Wed 24 Apr MIKE TRAMP

CHURCH, FROM 19:00, £13

The White Lion frontman returns with a full band for a show mapping out his entire career.

Fri 26 Apr TOYAH

80s icon Toyah Wilcox performs a selection of ‘hits’. UK SUBS

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, FROM 20:00, £12

Damned-inspired London punksters in their fifth decade on the scene.

Sat 27 Apr

PETER WATTERS (THE 1:21’S + PETE SMITH + THE WALKERS)

CONROY’S BASEMENT, FROM 19:00, £5 - £6

MODROPHENIA

CLARKS ON LINDSAY STREET, FROM 15:00, £5

Sun 28 Apr

THE BURNING HELL (RANDOLPH’S LEAP)

CLARKS ON LINDSAY STREET, FROM 19:00, £12

Canadian folk artist Mathias Kom returns to the UK with a full band in tow for this latest round of Burning Hell shows.

Mon 29 Apr

RUMOURS OF FLEETWOOD MAC

CAIRD HALL, FROM 20:00, £26.50 - £36.50

Fleetwood Mac tribute act. THE WATCH

CHURCH, FROM 19:00, TBC

The Italian prog-rock favourites perform Genesis classics.

CONROY’S BASEMENT, FROM 19:00, £8

Tenement TV showcase four upand-coming Scottish bands.

Free music all day from acoustic to blues and rock.

BANNERMANS, FROM 15:00, FREE

English two-tone and ska band, led by frontman Buster Bloodvessel.

CONROY’S BASEMENT, FROM 19:00, £6

A band that formed in 2016 with the primary goal of helping to bring British rock back to the forefront of the music industry.

The White Lion frontman returns with a full band for a show mapping out his entire career.

BANNERMANS, FROM 19:30, £13 - £16

BAD MANNERS

CHURCH, FROM 19:00, £22.50

Break on through to the other side of that authentic 60s sound with Dundee band The Sixties.

THE UNDERGROUND VAULT (DELERIUM TREES + MICHAEL FORSYTH)

Sat 06 Apr

THE BIG BLUESY BRUNCH (12 BAR BREWS)

Sat 20 Apr

Peter Watters launches his new album Nobody Ever Did Anything By Doing Nothing.

BREWHEMIA, FROM 18:00, FREE

A blend of live music, immersive theatre, drinks and dining. Step into the wonder of Brewhemia’s Shindigs

CONROY’S BASEMENT, FROM 19:30, £5 - £6

Anarchy, virtuosity, humour, existentialism and bangers by the bucketload from one of the country’s finest and most caustic singer/songwriters.

British indie rock group originally formed in 1985 in Leeds, from the ashes of Lost Pandas.

Intense instrumental ecossemo/ post-rock existentialism from members of the MTAT collective.

SHINDIG (BECKY COLE & DAVID BURNS + BACK CHAT BRASS)

TIM LOUD BAND (TRAGICAL HISTORY TOUR + NICOLA MADILL)

CHURCH, FROM 19:00, £20

Twisted, grungy pop from South Yorkshire.

It’s Big, it’s bluesy and full of brunch goodness. Classic blues paired with Bloody Mary’s and stacks of pancakes.

MIKE TRAMP (STONEY BROKE)

THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 14:00, £7.50

A Sunday afternoon to drink, dance and sing along to simply the most authentic 60s band you will ever hear.

LA VILLA STRANGIATO

In its 16th year, the Northern Streams Festival continues to bring award-winning and emerging Nordic and Scottish artists to Edinburgh.

Piano singer-songwriter blessed with a mesmerising four octave vocal range.

SIXTIES ON A SUNDAY (FAYNE AND THE CRUISERS)

MOTEH PARROT (NICKY MURRAY)

CONROY’S BASEMENT, FROM 19:00, £11.07

Tue 02 Apr CRATER COVE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

Funk, disco, boogie and house. #TAG TUESDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £0 - £4

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

Moteh Parrott and friends and Nicky Murray out on their joint headline Scottish tour, with local support.

Wed 03 Apr

Fri 12 Apr

Nu-metal, pop-punk, emo and early 00s tunes.

CONROY’S BASEMENT, FROM 20:00, TBC

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £4

IDKID (ALTINAK + SAVAGE DINK + GETSOME RECORDS)

Local talent bring a top night of alt/indie/rock LACH

CLARKS ON LINDSAY STREET, FROM 19:00, £7

The anti-folk and spoken word local does his thing.

Sat 13 Apr

NOT ROBOTS? (EVERYDAY PHAROAHS + ASTRAL)

IT’S NOT A PHASE, MOM!

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

CATHOUSE WEDNESDAYS

DJ Jonny soundtracks your Wednesday with all the best poppunk, rock and hip-hop. GLITTERED! WEDNESDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £0 - £4

DJ Garry Garry Garry in G2 with chart remixes, along with beer pong competitions all night. SUNNY SIDE UP (THE PITS)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £3

Edinburgh post-punk rockers blending an array of styles.

CONROY’S BASEMENT, FROM 19:00, TBC

A charity club night raising funds for sustainable energy in remote villages.

Sun 14 Apr

Thu 04 Apr

CHURCH, FROM 19:00, £5

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

BLEACH HCP (TERRA NOVA)

Bleach HCP and Terra Nøva finish their April run of dates.

STAR SIGNZ

Flamboyant disco dream weavers. UNHOLY

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £2 - £4

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

Listings

Glasgow Clubs ELEMENT

CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, TBC

Ross MacMillan plays chart, house and anthems with giveaways, bouncy castles and, most importantly, air hockey. FOUNDRY (SPFDJ)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

Foundry invite Swedish-born, Berlin-based DJ SPFDJ to join them for their latest La Cheetah party.

Fri 05 Apr FRESH! FRIDAYS

ORAN MOR, FROM 23:00, £0 - £6

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £6

ELEMENT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, TBC

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

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

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

Wednesday night regulars at La Cheetah.

I LOVE GARAGE

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

AFLOAT

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, TBC

Fri 12 Apr

ANNA & HOLLY’S DANCE PARTY

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, £3

Rock’n’roll, garage and soul.

Resident DJ John McLean brings you the biggest tunes and best deals to make your weekend one to remember.

SOUTHSIDE SOLIDARITY (SPUTNICK + DJ AMY)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, £3

Bi-monthly party at The Flying Duck, with all proceeds donated to The Against Malaria Foundation.

Brothers Tom and Jack Le Feuvre run Le Freak Records and throw memorable parties in Dundee, and they’re bringing some friends along for this Glasgow show.

A NIGHT OF TRANCE CLASSICS

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £6

CATHOUSE, FROM 22:30, £5 - £6

GLITTERBANG

Disco divas and Euro-pop anthems for those ready to sweat. SWG3, FROM 22:00, £6 - £10

Go back to a time when trance ruled the airwaves.

BANTERSNATCH: INTERACTIVE CLUB 1984

SWG3, FROM 22:00, £6 - £8

Club night based on Charlie Brooker’s interactive Netflix film Bandersnatch. Choose your own adventure. CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

CATHOUSE, FROM 22:30, £5 - £6

Screamy, shouty, post-hardcore madness to help you shake off a week of stress in true punk style. FRESH BEAT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £6

Dance, chart and remixes in the main hall with Craig Guild, while DJ Nicola Walker keeps things nostalgic in G2 with flashback bangers galore. PARTIAL (MOZGHAN)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £8 - £10

Born in Iran and based in San Francisco, Mozghan’s We Are Monsters nights explore dark, twisted and mysterious dancefloor sounds. I AM (MOUNT KIMBIE (DJ SET) + BRAIN DANCING)

SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, £8 - £12

Resident young guns Beta & Kappa play the usual fine mix of electronica and bass, with a special guest or two oft in tow. COUNTERFLOWS FESTIVAL 2019: LATE NIGHT SOCIAL (MC CAROL + LYZZA (DJ) + NENA EZTA (DJ))

THE ART SCHOOL, FROM 23:00, £8

Counterflows’ 2019 Late Night Socials focus on new and experimental music of the South American diaspora. POW PRESENTS (REBECCA VASMANT + SOUL STEAK)

THE RUM SHACK, FROM 22:00, £5

A night of disco, funk, Latin, jazz and lots more, with occasional special guests. SAMEDIA SHEBEEN

THE BLUE ARROW, FROM 23:00, £4 - £7

As always Samedia play music spanning Afrobeat, Latin, kuduru, dancehall, samba, soca, cumbia and beyond. ROOM 2 DANCE (JOY ORBISON + CERA KHIN + JUNGLEHUSSI)

ROOM 2, FROM 22:00, £12 - £15

THE FLYING DUCK, FROM 23:00, TBC

ACID FLASH (CHARLES GREEN)

SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, TBC

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £6

SUBCULTURE

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic, oft’ joined by a carousel of super fresh guests. COUNTERFLOWS FESTIVAL 2019: LATE NIGHT SOCIAL (JIM C NEDD + PALM WINE (DJ) + ASHANTI (DJ))

THE ART SCHOOL, FROM 23:00, £6

Counterflows’ 2019 Late Night Socials focus on new and experimental music of the South American diaspora. SUPERMAX

THE BERKELEY SUITE, FROM 23:00, £9

DJ Billy Woods, start to finish, open to close.

MISSING PERSONS CLUB X HUNTLEY & PALMERS (VOISKI (LIVE) + ALEX SMOKE (LIVE)) ROOM 2, FROM 23:00, £10

Huntleys & Palmers team up with Missing Persons Club to celebrate the launch of the latest release by Alex Smoke.

Sun 07 Apr

NULL / VOID (EXTERIOR)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

Industrial goth rock disco. HELLBENT

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, TBC

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

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

EXCELLENT WOMEN

Hip-hop, bass and trap.

FREAKING OUT THE NEIGHBOURHOOD (TAM MCCRIMBO + LONE ECONOMICS) QUEEN MARGARET UNION, FROM 22:00, £2 - £4

Indie club night featuring music from the likes of Courtney Barnett, Tame Impala, King Krule and, of course, Mac DeMarco. LETS GO BACK TO THE 80S

SWG3, FROM 22:00, £10

DJs Bosco, Rob Mason and JP have been DJing since the 80s and will take you back to the sound of the dancefloors in 1980s.

THE FLYING DUCK, FROM 22:00, £5 - £6

The latest in La Cheetah’s 10th birthday celebrations throughout 2019, teaming up with Ribeka’s LT parties to bring Italian DJ Elena Colombi to the club. RETURN TO MONO (SLAM)

SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, £8 - £10

Monthly night from Soma Records, often with special guests. SGÀIRAOKE!

THE ART SCHOOL, FROM 23:00, £0 - £3

Sgàire Wood hosts an evening of music, performance and various curated madness. Themes and thrills abound. SILVER DOLLAR CLUB (CEEPHAX ACID CREW (LIVE))

THE BERKELEY SUITE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £8

The musical imprint and club night based in Glasgow continue their string of exciting bookings. NIGHTRAVE (NATHAN FAKE + LISALOOF)

ROOM 2, FROM 23:00, £10

SHAKA LOVES YOU

Hip-hop and live percussion flanked by wicked visuals.

Tue 09 Apr

SWG3, FROM 22:00, £10

Wed 10 Apr

RETRONIC W/ FRANKIE ELYSE

Rock’n’roll, and 50s and 60s bangers. CATHOUSE WEDNESDAYS

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £4

DJ Jonny soundtracks your Wednesday with all the best poppunk, rock and hip-hop. GLITTERED! WEDNESDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £0 - £4

DJ Garry Garry Garry in G2 with chart remixes, along with beer pong competitions all night. ARCADE (FORT ROMEAU)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £6 - £7

Fort Romeau has demonstrated his skill as a selector and established himself as a world class producer over the years.

Thu 11 Apr SCIENCE FICTION

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

The Queens of the Glasgow disco scene, FKA Drugstore Glamour. CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £2 - £4

THE RUM SHACK, FROM 22:00, £4

Afro, disco and fun times with three of the best record collections in Glasgow (and beyond). LET’S GO BACK TO ACID (HARDFLOOR (LIVE) + BOSCO & ROB MASON) ROOM 2, FROM 23:00, £10

Celebration of all things acid, with a live set from German duo Hardfloor.

Sun 14 Apr SESH

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

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

SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER BOOGIE WONDERLAND

Expect to hear all the tracks from Saturday Night Fever mixed alongside the best disco sounds. CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £6

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

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £12 - £15

Palms Trax returns to La Cheetah Club once again with his Cooking with Palms Trax nights. SUBCULTURE

SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, TBC

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

ACID HOUSE EASTER PARTY SWG3, FROM 22:00, £6

Recreating the buzz from 30 years ago when acid house parties were happening all over the UK. HARDSTYLE WARRIORS: WARFARE

SWG3, FROM 23:00, £10

Hardstyle Warriors will be playing the hardest tracks from the biggest hardstyle artists in the world all night long. CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

CATHOUSE, FROM 22:30, £5 - £6

Screamy, shouty, post-hardcore madness to help you shake off a week of stress in true punk style. #TAG TUESDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £0 - £4

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

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £6

Dance, chart and remixes in the main hall with Craig Guild, while DJ Nicola Walker keeps things nostalgic in G2 with flashback bangers galore.

Mon 15 Apr

LA CHEETAH CLUB PRESENTS (MARIEL ITO)

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

Revived in 2018, Maceo Plex’s Mariel Ito project is known as an outlet for its gritty electro and brain melting IDM productions.

BARE MONDAYS

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

Tue 16 Apr

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £10 - £12

SENSU (DJ SEINFELD + IGGIE)

SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, £8

MELTING POT EASTER SUNDAY PARTY (SIMONOTRON)

LA CHEETAH CLUB PRESENTS… (MOXIE + SAOIRSE)

THE ADMIRAL, FROM 23:00, £5 - £8

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £10 - £12

Melting Pot bring back good friend and fabulous DJ Simonotron from Hot Mess for their annual Easter Sunday blow out. CHEERS FOR THIRD SUNDAY

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, TBC

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

GRAEME PARK

SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, £8

The Hacienda legend is known as one of the most influential Djs of the house era, so basically you know what to do (buy tickets).

ELECTRIC SALSA (PETER VAN HOESEN + BROKEN ENGLISH CLUB (LIVE) + WECHT) ROOM 2, FROM 23:00, £10

With over 30 parties at La Cheetah Club over the years, Electric Salsa move to the larger surrounds of Room 2 for their third birthday celebrations.

Wed 17 Apr DON’T BE GUTTED

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

All-out decadence in the name of euphoria. CATHOUSE WEDNESDAYS

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £4

DJ Jonny soundtracks your Wednesday with all the best poppunk, rock and hip-hop. GLITTERED! WEDNESDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £0 - £4

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

ATTENTION PLEASE (MISS WORLD)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £3 - £5

Attention Please continue their new monthly dates in La Cheetah.

Thu 18 Apr PRAY 4 LOVE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

All love songs + all bangers. PROJECT X III

SWG3, FROM 22:00, £10

All-new student night themed around the film of the same name, Project X. UNHOLY

ROOM 2, FROM 23:00, £5 - £6

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £6

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

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

THE FLYING DUCK, FROM 22:00, £10.19

STEREO, FROM 21:00, £9

Rhode Island minimal techno troupe with a stripped down, beatorientated approach.

SUBCULTURE

SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, TBC

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic, oft’ joined by a carousel of super fresh guests. ITS TOO HOT TO SLEEP (AMY KRAWCZYK + BOOSTERHOOCH + ROSEHIPS)

THE ART SCHOOL, FROM 23:00, TBC

Pala bring the best DJs and live acts Glasgow has to offer to the La Cheetah basement.

New monthly Art School residency, featuring some cool/uncool/ fun/danceable tracks from local Glasgow DJs and Subcity Radio contributors.

SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, £1 - £5

THE RUM SHACK, FROM 21:00, £2

PALA (VEITCH, CASEY AND STENGO )

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £0 - £5

HEADSET (JEREMY SYLVESTER)

CATHOUSE WEDNESDAYS

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £4

DJ Jonny soundtracks your Wednesday with all the best poppunk, rock and hip-hop. GLITTERED! WEDNESDAYS

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £0 - £4

DJ Garry Garry Garry in G2 with chart remixes, along with beer pong competitions all night. EUTONY X TLF (EDIT SELECT)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £5 - £8

Eutony and TLF join forces to bring Pressure and Return To Mono regular Edit Select to La Cheetah.

Thu 25 Apr BREAKFAST CLUB

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

An 80s mega-mix party. UNHOLY

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £2 - £4

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £10 - £12

A collaborative night between Red Bull Music and La Cheetah Club.

CONTAINER (KLEFT + THE MODERN INSTITUTE + AISHA (DJ SET))

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

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

ELEMENT

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

FREAK LIKE ME

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

RED BULL MUSIC X LA CHEETAH (VERONICA VASICKA + MACHINE WOMAN + BREAKWAVE)

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, TBC

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £0 - £4

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

Go Funk Yer Soul the sequel, featuring 45 Live Official stalwart Boca 45.

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £2 - £4

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

#TAG TUESDAYS

Soul, hip-hop and funk.

CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

MOJO WORKIN’ (FELONIOUS MUNK)

ELEMENT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, TBC

RUSH

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £5

Rush is back to give you hard techno all night long.

Fri 26 Apr EASY PEELERS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, £3

Bangers ripe and ready for your enjoyment. BRITNEY POP DISCOTHEQUE

SWG3, FROM 22:00, £8

It’s Britney bitch! Dance to all your favourite hits by the princess of pop.

SWG3, FROM 22:00, £30

Two of dance music’s most legendary artists play a joint show.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, TBC

I LOVE GARAGE

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

HISTORY OF UKG: WOOKIE

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £2 - £10

23 Degrees arrives at the Bongo to celebrate one of the most defining sounds and fashions of our culture with a history of UK Garage. TASTY

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Delicious start to the weekend with a chart, R’n’B and club anthem flavour. SILK THURSDAYS

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:30, £0 - £5

Weekly Thursday chart, house, R’n’B and indie night with DJ Big Al.

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £10 - £12

POPULAR MUSIC (NICK FROM SNEAKS + PEAKY BLINDRUNK)

SUBCULTURE

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

Craig Moog continues his Elisco parties, with special guests aplenty. SUB CLUB, FROM 23:00, TBC

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic, oft’ joined by a carousel of super fresh guests. PEACH: 10TH EDITION (K4CIE)

THE ART SCHOOL, FROM 23:00, £8

The Glasgow-based collective and music platform, continuing to give DJs, producers and artists a level to create.

SYMBIOSIS (FOCUS + HEX + CALACO JACK + YELLOW BENZENE + ALCANE)

AUDIO, FROM 23:00, FREE

Dundee-based Terraform boss, Focus lands at Audio for his Symbiosis debut. RUMSHACK STEVE PRESENTS

THE RUM SHACK, FROM 21:00, £5

Rumshack Steve takes the reins for the night spinning all things reggae, dub, dancehall, roots, rockers and other Jamaican bass transmissions. CLOUDS PRESENT MAXIBOY

ROOM 2, FROM 23:00, £10

Clouds play all night to celebrate the inaugural outing of their new Room 2 residency, Maxiboy.

Sun 28 Apr

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £1 - £3

Fri 05 Apr FLY (THEO KOTTIS)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £8 - £15

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent. HEADSET (WHEELMAN)

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £1 - £5

Skillis and friends playing garage, techno, house and bass, with special guests often joining in. FLIP - 6 NATIONS: ENTER THE DRAGON

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, £0 - £4

#Backingblue as the Welsh arrive. Chart, mash-ups and alt anthems XOXO

WEE RED BAR, FROM 23:00, £5

The popular queer night returns to the Wee Red. PROPAGANDA

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:30, £2 - £4

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like. MISS WORLD

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £5

Classic rock through the ages from DJ Nicola Walker.

A musical beauty pageant from Miss World DJs, bringing you everything from techno, disco, house, soul, funk, garage and everything in between.

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £10

SLIDE IT IN

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, TBC

SESH

THE EDINBURGH SOUL TRAIN

FRESH BEAT

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £6

Sun 21 Apr

CATHOUSE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £6

UNDERGROUND SOCIETY

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

SWG3, FROM 18:00, £30

FUNK PRESENTS MARCO STRAUS (BLANC + LOTRAX)

Hip-hop and live percussion flanked by wicked visuals.

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 23:00, £0 - £4

Slam rope in a massive techno line-up for their all day Easter Sunday party.

SASHA & JOHN DIGWEED

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £1 - £3

Weekly Wednesday hosted by C-Shaman, who welcomes house and techno friends from near and there.

Mon 29 Apr

CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

Fri 19 Apr Beans + Divine explore the hits on 7” vinyl.

HEATERS (ROSSZ VÉR & KREGGO [ART-AUD])

CATHOUSE, FROM 22:30, £5 - £6

60s Rhythm and blues, ska, Motown and Northern soul.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, £3

WILD ONES

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Perfect blend of modern club chart, and 90s and 00s guilty pleasures.

A night train taking you on an uplifting journey filled with funk, soul, disco and Motown classics.

Skillis and friends playing garage, techno, house and bass, with special guests often joining in. SINGLES NIGHT

Wed 03 Apr

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

Screamy, shouty, post-hardcore madness to help you shake off a week of stress in true punk style.

MAXIMUM PRESSURE EASTER 2019

TRASH - COSPLAY NIGHT

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Pop-punk and pancakes. Live the dream.

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

Sat 20 Apr

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, £3

SHAKA LOVES YOU

Weekly Bongo night by Electrikal Sound System, dishing out drum and bass, jungle, bassline, grime and garage.

Weekly party every Thursday with residents Merlot and Dave Hill.

Wed 24 Apr

Exotic dreamy disco.

Sat 27 Apr

MIDNIGHT BASS

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £1 - £5

CATHOUSE SATURDAYS

Ira, Drumheller and Casement bring all the Afro house, electronic and bass. THE LANCE VANCE DANCE

ROOM 2, FROM 23:00, £12 - £15

The Bug is the principal outlet for Kevin Martin, the shape-shifting producer known for his punishing live shows and a heavyweight catalogue of collaborations, most recently Miss Red.

Since May 2012, Hector’s House (known affectionately to many as Hector’s) has become Edinburgh’s stalwart midweek shindig, drawing in capacity crowds each and every Tuesday.

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

BARE MONDAYS

#TAG TUESDAYS

BRUK OUT

THE BUG (LIVE) FEAT. MISS RED

HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £6

Thu 04 Apr

Mon 22 Apr

Tue 23 Apr

A night of contemporary classics, unheard of gems and well-kent belters, all for your general dancing pleasure, natch.

THE ART SCHOOL, FROM 22:00, £7 - £10

Tue 02 Apr

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, £3

THE BERKELEY SUITE, FROM 23:00, £0 - £5

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £0 - £4

SUB CLUB, FROM 22:00, £10 - £12

Belfast-based AVA Festival make their Scottish debut, curating a very appealing line-up.

FUSE is a project created by the Glasgow-based duo VAJ.Power, representing live electronic musicians, DJs and animators, especially those who identify as queer, trans, POC, BAME, womxn and femme.

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

THE YELLOW DOOR

AVA PRESENTS (OPTIMO + IDA + MARION HAWKES)

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

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

Sensu continue to bring cutting edge electronic music from across the globe to their parties, with the occasional pal dropping in too.

LOWER SLAUGHTER AFTER PARTY

The always forward-thinking team at La Cheetah continue to bring some of their favourite Djs to the club.

FUSE BY VAJ.POWER (CATNAPP + GORO + AKUMU + VAJ.POWER + PRINCESS KYOTO)

SESH

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

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

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, £3

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

LOOSEN UP (FERGUS CLARK + CHARLIE MCCANN + DAVID BARBAROSSA)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, FROM 23:00, £8 - £10

LT X LC (ELENA COLOMBI)

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

OBZRV MUSIC PRESENTS ISSA VIBE

Mind Yer Self is a club night with bigger aims, raising awareness of mental issues among young people, with all profits going to local mental health charities.

After party show for the Lower Slaughter gig with special guest Djs.

THE GARAGE GLASGOW, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

BARE MONDAYS

THE BERKELEY SUITE, FROM 23:00, £7 - £10

A night with a focus on electronic, experimental, fun and weird music, featuring the best DJs and live acts from Glasgow and further afield.

Sat 13 Apr

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

Listings

A CUT ABOVE #5

Mon 08 Apr

UNHOLY

Dance, chart and remixes in the main hall with Craig Guild, while DJ Nicola Walker keeps things nostalgic in G2 with flashback bangers galore.

Glasgow DJ Nightwave invites Cambria Instruments head honcho Nathan Fake along for her latest Nightrave party.

Sat 06 Apr

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, £3

FRESH BEAT

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

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, FROM 23:30, FREE

Resident DJ Bobby Bluebell mixes up the house, R’n’B and chart.

CATHOUSE FRIDAYS

Screamy, shouty, post-hardcore madness to help you shake off a week of stress in true punk style.

Hip-hop, grime and UK garage.

SATURDAY SHAKEDOWN

SWG3, FROM 22:00, £3

IDA brings her Aberdeen-originating Acid Flash nights to Glasgow and brings along some pals too.

Room 2 and Joy Orbison curate the first line-up for this new in house night.

ORAN MOR, FROM 23:00, £8

LE FREAK AND FRIENDS

MYS TURNS 2 (O’FLYNN + DONNA LEAKE)

Dance, chart and remixes in the main hall with Craig Guild, while DJ Nicola Walker keeps things nostalgic in G2 with flashback bangers galore.

BARE MONDAYS

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

ERROR404

New club night in Edinburgh playing all sorts of dance music with the newest Djays and an all round laugh.

JACUZZI GENERAL PRESENTS.. (C-SHAMAN) PARADISE PALMS, FROM 21:00, FREE

Weekly evening hosted by Palms own musical big man ‘The General’. Expect towels, shower curtains, dancing and maybe a hot tub.

Funk bring Marco Strous to Sleazys for the first time.

THE SKINNY

Edinburgh Clubs LIVE MUSIC AT LADY LIBERTINE (BABES) LADY LIBERTINE, FROM 21:00, FREE

A revolving line-up of Djs spinning tunes from 9pm at Lady Libertine.

Sat 06 Apr PLEASURE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £8

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

SOULSVILLE (GARETH SOMMERVILLE + TWO GUYS) THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £3 - £6

Residents Cameron Mason and Calum Evans spin the finest cuts of deep funk, Latin rhythms and rare groove into the early hours. PULSE WITH BLAWAN

THE CAVES, FROM 23:00, £12.50

The techno DJ and producer with many guises heads to the historic vaults of The Caves. BUBBLEGUM

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, £0 - £4

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

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:30, £5 - £7

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

LEFTFIELD (DJ SET) (CO-ACCUSED + LIAM DOC) THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:30, £15

Dance your face off with a dose of prog house, electronica and trip-hop.

HEAL YOURSELF AND MOVE (LINKWOOD + HOUSE OF TRAPS + OTHER LANDS) SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £5

Travel into the outer with a night curated by Firecracker Recordings. SPRINGIN’ MINGIN’ (BRIAN DEMPSTER + ALAN JOY)

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 23:00, £5

Expect some solid house, trance and techno from classics to present. SAMEDIA SHEBEEN

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

As always Samedia play music spanning Afrobeat, Latin, kuduru, dancehall, samba, soca, cumbia and beyond. RIVIERA PARADISO (ANDREA MONTALTO + SOFIA STERGIOU)

PARADISE PALMS, FROM 21:00, FREE

Resident Andrea Montalto hosts a night of new wave, Italo and other electronic oddballs, with special guests often joining him.

LIVE MUSIC AT LADY LIBERTINE (ANDREA MONTALTO) LADY LIBERTINE, FROM 21:00, FREE

A revolving line-up of Djs spinning tunes from 9pm at Lady Libertine.

Sun 07 Apr SUNDAY CLUB

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

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

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, FREE

Believe presents the best in bass DJs from Edinburgh at his weekly Sunday communion. SUNDAY WITH THE LADY

LADY LIBERTINE, FROM 15:00, FREE

A revolving line-up of DJs play a mixture of soul, jazz and all things horizontal from 3-8pm.

Mon 08 Apr MIXED UP

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Monday-brightening mix of hiphop, R’n’B and chart classics, with requests in the back room.

HYPNOTIC GROOVE (J WAX + PELK)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £3 - £5

A night of techno slammers with two local rising talents.

Tue 09 Apr HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, TBC

Since May 2012, Hector’s House (known affectionately to many as Hector’s) has become Edinburgh’s stalwart midweek shindig, drawing in capacity crowds each and every Tuesday.

April 2019

MIDNIGHT BASS

MESSENGER

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £1 - £5

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

Weekly Bongo night by Electrikal Sound System, dishing out drum and bass, jungle, bassline, grime and garage.

Conscious roots and dub reggae rockin’ from the usual beefy Messenger Sound System.

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

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

TRASH

Alternative Tuesday anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more.

Wed 10 Apr

WILD ONES - EMOJI PARTY

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Laugh, cry and… poop? Hundreds of emoji photo props. Chart and cheese. HEATERS (ARTIISAN)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £1 - £3

Weekly Wednesday hosted by CShaman, who welcomes house and techno friends from near and there.

Thu 11 Apr

UNDERGROUND SOCIETY

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

Weekly party every Thursday with residents Merlot and Dave Hill. TASTY

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Delicious start to the weekend with a chart, R’n’B and club anthem flavour. SILK THURSDAYS

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:30, £0 - £5

Weekly Thursday chart, house, R’n’B and indie night with DJ Big Al. POPULAR MUSIC (NICK FROM SNEAKS + PEAKY BLINDRUNK)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £1 - £3

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

Fri 12 Apr

FLY (CONNOR LARKMAN + SEAN FINNIGAN)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £6 - £12

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent.

SAMEDIA SHEBEEN: DISCO MAKOSSA

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

Dancefloor-ready African funk, disco, boogie, house and a little drop of acid. FLIP - PADDY’S PRE-PARTY

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, £0 - £4

Start Paddy’s weekend right with FLIP. Chart, mash-ups and alt anthems. PROPAGANDA

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:30, £2 - £4

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like. HOT MESS: EAST COAST

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £6

HOT MESS is a dance party for queer people and their friends. Simonotron plays disco and techno music all night long. OPTIMO (ESPACIO)

SUMMERHALL, FROM 23:00, £12 - £14

The legendary duo of JD Twitch and JG Wilkes return to Summerhall with another Optimo (Espacio) evening. CAROUSE (DJ HAUS)

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £8

A noisy, lively drinking party, with special guests here and there.

JACUZZI GENERAL PRESENTS.. (NICK FROM SNEAKS)

PARADISE PALMS, FROM 21:00, FREE

Weekly evening hosted by Palms own musical big man ‘The General’. Expect towels, shower curtains, dancing and maybe a hot tub.

LIVE MUSIC AT LADY LIBERTINE (SCOTT PROPER) LADY LIBERTINE, FROM 21:00, FREE

A revolving line-up of Djs spinning tunes from 9pm at Lady Libertine.

Sat 13 Apr PLEASURE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £8

Regular Saturday night at Cab Vol, with residents and occasional special guests. THE CAUSE: MUSIC FOR A JILTED GENERATION

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 22:00, £5 - £10

London’s DIY underground dance space is holding a UK wide fundraiser in honour of Keith Flint with ticket sales going to their partner charities dedicated to improving mental health and preventing suicide.

BUBBLEGUM

THE HIVE, FROM 21:00, £0 - £4

SPECTRUM WITH BUSHWACKA

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:30, £6 - £10

The acid house pioneer and tech house legend plays a classic underground vinyl set. TEESH

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £5

An all you can eat mind buffet of cosmic sounds and visuals with DJ Cheers.

THE PEOPLE’S FRONT (THE BURRELL CONNECTION + PARTS UNKNOWN + SLOAN) PARADISE PALMS, FROM 21:00, FREE

The trio behind The People’s Front let the music do the talking, with a shared musical ideology that draws the dots between disco, Italo and all the curveballs in between.

LIVE MUSIC AT LADY LIBERTINE (ANDERS SICRE) LADY LIBERTINE, FROM 21:00, FREE

A revolving line-up of Djs spinning tunes from 9pm at Lady Libertine.

SILK THURSDAYS

MAYHEM.

GUCCI GANG

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:30, £0 - £5

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 23:00, £5

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £8

Weekly Thursday chart, house, R’n’B and indie night with DJ Big Al. POPULAR MUSIC (NICK FROM SNEAKS + PEAKY BLINDRUNK)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £1 - £3

DJs playing music by bands to make you dance: Grace Jones to Neu!, Parquet Courts to Brian Eno, The Clash to Janelle Monae. CLUB MERCADO (GREG MARTIN + STEVIE CARNIE + PAUL MONCUR + ROSS HAMMOND)

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £10

Modern and classic disco and funky house.

Fri 19 Apr FLY (DISCO BIZKET)

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £6

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent. ELECTRIKAL: 9TH BIRTHDAY

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £6 - £8

Soundsystem partystarters, part of a music and art collective specialising in all things bass. FLIP - EASTER CRÈME EGG GIVEAWAY

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, £0 - £4

Hundreds of chocolate treats. Club, mash-ups and alt anthems. PROPAGANDA

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:30, £2 - £4

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like.

Sun 14 Apr

ATHENS OF THE NORTH DISCO CLUB (FRYER + GARETH SOMMERVILLE + LEL PALFREY)

THE CAVES, FROM 23:00, £5

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £5

JACKHAMMER (PATRICK WALKER + POSTHUMAN)

The Jackhammer crew serve up a dose of all things techno. ST PATRICK’S DAY

THE HIVE, FROM 21:00, £6

Irish décor, face painting, cocktails, giveaways and more. COALITION

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, FREE

Believe presents the best in bass DJs from Edinburgh at his weekly Sunday communion. SUNDAY WITH THE LADY

LADY LIBERTINE, FROM 15:00, FREE

A revolving line-up of DJs play a mixture of soul, jazz and all things horizontal from 3-8pm.

Mon 15 Apr

M.U.M - GAME OF THRONES PARTY

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Winter is here. GoT themed cocktails and more. Chart, club, alt and requests. KOSELIG PRESENTS: HIDDEN SPHERES

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £10

Lobster Theremin and Rhythm Section artist Hidden Spheres visits Sneaks for an intimate jazzy affair.

Tue 16 Apr HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £6

Since May 2012, Hector’s House (known affectionately to many as Hector’s) has become Edinburgh’s stalwart midweek shindig, drawing in capacity crowds each and every Tuesday. MIDNIGHT BASS

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £1 - £5

Weekly Bongo night by Electrikal Sound System, dishing out drum and bass, jungle, bassline, grime and garage. TRASH

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Alternative Tuesday anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more.

Wed 17 Apr

WILD ONES - FRAT PARTY

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Spring break! Red cups, beer pong and more. Chart and cheese. HEATERS (JACKIE HOUSE)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

Weekly Wednesday hosted by CShaman, who welcomes house and techno friends from near and there.

Thu 18 Apr

UNDERGROUND SOCIETY

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

Weekly party every Thursday with residents Merlot and Dave Hill. TASTY

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Delicious start to the weekend with a chart, R’n’B and club anthem flavour.

A night of unrelenting hardcore, hard techno and gabber. TERMINAL U - THE RISING

After sold out events all around the country, the UK’s biggest trap/hiphop night comes to Edinburgh.

ROYAL HIGHLAND CENTRE, FROM 12:00, £67.44

Fri 26 Apr

Sun 28 Apr

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £6 - £10

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Richie Hawtin, Helena Hauff, Daniel Avery and more arrive in Edinburgh for Terminal U's Easter Party. NIKNAK

PARADISE PALMS, FROM 21:00, FREE

Palms favourite DJ duo NikNak play pure mint tunes, with loads of excellent dancing.

LIVE MUSIC AT LADY LIBERTINE (ROSS HUTCHINSON) LADY LIBERTINE, FROM 21:00, FREE

A revolving line-up of Djs spinning tunes from 9pm at Lady Libertine.

Sun 21 Apr

EASTER SUNDAY BANK HOLIDAY

After a successful inaugural night, Boy North and Groovers are bringing back Utopia for more.

JACUZZI GENERAL PRESENTS.. (JACUZZI GENERAL AND MANUEL DARQUART) PARADISE PALMS, FROM 21:00, FREE

Weekly evening hosted by Palms own musical big man ‘The General’. Expect towels, shower curtains, dancing and maybe a hot tub.

LIVE MUSIC AT LADY LIBERTINE (SCOTTIEBOY) LADY LIBERTINE, FROM 21:00, FREE

A revolving line-up of Djs spinning tunes from 9pm at Lady Libertine.

Sat 20 Apr PLEASURE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £8

WEE RED BAR, FROM 22:30, TBC

The SOSuk after party on Easter Sunday. COALITION

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, FREE

Believe presents the best in bass DJs from Edinburgh at his weekly Sunday communion.

EH-FM EASTER SHOWCASE (PERCY MAIN)

Saturday mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure. HEART OF GLASS

WEE RED BAR, FROM 23:00, £5 - £6

Glamourous, glittery, flamboyant, feathery, ostentatious and rock ‘n’ roll, Heart of Glass plays only the best music from the 70s and beyond. TERMINAL V AFTERPARTY

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 23:00, £10 - £20

Late night after party for Terminal V with special guests. DAN JUICE ALL NIGHT

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £5

Dan Juice is back for another four hours of dancefloor music magic; this time raising money for Drake Music Scotland. DECADE - EASTER PARTY

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 23:00, £3 - £5

The biggest pop-punk and emo party with an added Easter egg hunt. SESENTAYUNO & FRIENDS

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 23:00, £5

A night soundtracked with a familiar style of house grooves.

Find full listings at theskinny.co.uk/whats-on

Playing the finest in Swedish indiepop, 60s, 70s and independent music from near and far. PROPAGANDA

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:30, £2 - £4

Clubber’s favourite of indie classics and baggy greats, from Primal Scream and the like. LIONOIL (M. VAUGHN + TOM VR)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £5 - £7

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 23:00, £5

LADY LIBERTINE, FROM 15:00, FREE

Mon 22 Apr MIXED UP

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

TENBIT X POWERHOUSE

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

Tenbit are joined by Powerhouse, a local up and coming Edinburgh night who are pushing the boundaries in the scene. No warm up techno involved.

Tue 23 Apr HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £6

Since May 2012, Hector’s House (known affectionately to many as Hector’s) has become Edinburgh’s stalwart midweek shindig, drawing in capacity crowds each and every Tuesday. MIDNIGHT BASS

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £1 - £5

Weekly Bongo night by Electrikal Sound System, dishing out drum and bass, jungle, bassline, grime and garage. TRASH - POP-PUNK PARTY

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

WILD ONES

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, £0 - £4

MJÖLK

SUNDAY WITH THE LADY

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £3 - £7

BUBBLEGUM

FLIP

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, £0 - £4

Matchmaking Edinburgh label and party people Lionoil Industries return to Sneaks.

Spring break! Rock, pop-punk and alt anthems.

Funk, soul, beats and bumps from the Mumbo Jumbo gang and room two residents The GoGo.

Sound System Legacies explores the legacy of dub, reggae, roots music and sound system culture on more contemporary club and dance music styles.

PARADISE PALMS, FROM 20:00, FREE

Percy Main brings the pick of the EH-FM family to Paradise Palms for an Easter Sunday extravaganza.

Regular Saturday night at Cab Vol, with residents and occasional special guests. MUMBO JUMBO & THE GOGO

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, £5 - £8

WEE RED BAR, FROM 23:00, £4 - £5

Monday-brightening mix of hiphop, R’n’B and chart classics, with requests in the back room.

BOY NORTH PRESENTS: UTOPIA – THE SECOND CHAPTER

SOUND SYSTEM LEGACIES XL (SULLY + GROOVE CHRONICLES)

THE AFTER PARTY: EASTER SUNDAY

LA BELLE ANGELE, FROM 21:00, £10

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 23:00, TBC

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent.

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

A revolving line-up of DJs play a mixture of soul, jazz and all things horizontal from 3-8pm.

Bowie v Prince club night playing all your favourite Bowie and Prince tracks, plus The Sensational David Bowie Tribute Band live.

FLY (JON KRIEGER + LOBOS)

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Enjoy the long weekend with free entry and £1 drinks. Chart, club, pop and rock.

Edinburgh’s finest gem-digging, discogs destroying re-issue label goes real world once again. Rare records that’ll make you dance, guaranteed.

BOWIE V PRINCE (THE SENSATIONAL DAVID BOWIE TRIBUTE BAND (LIVE))

LIVE MUSIC AT LADY LIBERTINE (MR THING)

Wed 24 Apr THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Perfect blend of modern club chart, and 90s and 00s guilty pleasures. HEATERS (SAOIRSE)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £5 - £8

Weekly Wednesday hosted by CShaman, who welcomes house and techno friends from near and there.

Thu 25 Apr

UNDERGROUND SOCIETY

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £3 - £4

Weekly party every Thursday with residents Merlot and Dave Hill. TASTY - BEACH PARTY

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

Spring break! Bikinis, cocktails and beach balls. Club and student anthems. SILK THURSDAYS

THE LIQUID ROOM, FROM 22:30, £0 - £5

Weekly Thursday chart, house, R’n’B and indie night with DJ Big Al. HEATERS (CIEL)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £5 - £8

Weekly Wednesday hosted by C-Shaman, who welcomes house and techno friends from near and there.

SAVED BY THE 90S

The ultimate 90s night comes to Edinburgh. WACK (IS KILL & MARK JD)

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 23:00, £4 - £6

WACK is a club night in Edinburgh looking to throw some of the best nights in town at The Mash House. FIRST EDITION (ROUTE 8)

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 23:00, £6 - £10

Techno night from Glasgow and Edinburgh crews on the first floor of Mash House.

JACUZZI GENERAL PRESENTS.. (PALIDRONE) PARADISE PALMS, FROM 21:00, FREE

Weekly evening hosted by Palms own musical big man ‘The General’. Expect towels, shower curtains, dancing and maybe a hot tub.

LIVE MUSIC AT LADY LIBERTINE (CRAIG SMITH) LADY LIBERTINE, FROM 21:00, FREE

A revolving line-up of Djs spinning tunes from 9pm at Lady Libertine.

Sat 27 Apr PLEASURE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, FROM 23:00, £5 - £8

Regular Saturday night at Cab Vol, with residents and occasional special guests. SUBSTANCE (LEVON VINCENT)

THE BONGO CLUB, FROM 23:00, TBC

LADY LIBERTINE, FROM 21:00, FREE

A revolving line-up of Djs spinning tunes from 9pm at Lady Libertine. SUNDAY CLUB

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

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, FREE

Believe presents the best in bass DJs from Edinburgh at his weekly Sunday communion. SUNDAY WITH THE LADY

LADY LIBERTINE, FROM 15:00, FREE

A revolving line-up of DJs play a mixture of soul, jazz and all things horizontal from 3-8pm.

Mon 29 Apr

M.U.M - FEEL SO CLOSE: CALVIN HARRIS NIGHT

THE HIVE, FROM 22:00, FREE

A night of the homegrown hero’s biggest hits and more. Chart, club, alt and requests. SWINGER (JORDY DEELITE)

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £4

A night of Hi NRG, camp house and electro swing from Jordy Deelite.

Dundee Clubs Sat 06 Apr

ALL GOOD DOES DISCO (ALL NIGHT PASSION + VAN D + ETHAN BELL)

Sweaty dance disco for queer folk and their pals.

Fri 12 Apr LEON VYNEHALL

READING ROOMS, FROM 22:30, £10 - £12

The inimitable Leon Vynehall’s DJ-Kicks release and this show will have you lost in a musical paradise.

Sat 13 Apr CHARLES FENCKLER

CHURCH, FROM 22:00, £8 - £12

Charles Andre aka Charles Fenckler is a young French producer and the latest in new talent to join the Soma roster.

DISTRACTION (DRIFTMOON)

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 22:00, TBC

Distraction takes over the top two rooms of The Mash House to bring you a night of trance and hard dance. MANY ANIMALS (DAVIE MILLER + EXILED FROM CULTURE)

PARADISE PALMS, FROM 21:00, FREE

Bringing underground delights from around the world to the lounge. REGGAE GOT SOUL

LEITH DEPOT, FROM 19:30, TBC

A night of dub, reggae and ska bangers.

FASTLOVE

11 APR, 7:30PM, £24.40 - £35.40

A tribute to George Michael.

GREASE PRESENTED BY THE LYRIC CLUB

2-6 APR, TIMES VARY, £11.90 - £29.90

Lyric Club Glasgow are back and are proud to present the dazzling, award-winning musical, Grease. BELIEVE – THE CHER SONGBOOK

7 APR, 7:30PM, £13 - £25.50

A tribute to Cher.

Theatre Royal BALLETBOYZ: THEM/US

14 APR, 7:30PM, £13 - £30

BalletBoyz are back with two brand new works, both set to original scores by world-class composers. THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN

15-20 APR, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Adapted from Paula Hawkins’ novel, and starring Samantha Womack and Oliver Farnworth, this gripping new play will keep you guessing until the final moment. GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS

8-13 APR, TIMES VARY, £10 - £46

WHAT GIRLS ARE MADE OF

9-20 APR, 7:30PM, PRICES VARY

Based on her meticulously detailed teenage diaries, this is the true story of Cora Bissett’s rollercoaster journey from the girl she was to the woman she wanted to be. NORA: A DOLL’S HOUSE

2-6 APR, TIMES VARY, £12.50 - £26.50

A radical new version of Henrik Ibsen’s play, by Stef Smith.

Tron Theatre LOCKER ROOM TALK

17-27 APR, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Fri 19 Apr

4-6 APR, 7:30PM, £8

ALL GOOD FRIDAY (GEORGE FITZGERALD + VAN D + ETHAN BELL)

READING ROOMS, FROM 22:30, £8 - £14

PHAZED PRESENTS HOLLY LESTER (TOMLEFREAK + TEDDY HANNAN) READING ROOMS, FROM 22:30, £5 - £8

Irish DJ Holly Lester had a massive 2018, with her debut Boiler Room set at AVA Festival and a residency at The Warehouse Project.

Glasgow Theatre

THE MASH HOUSE, FROM 23:00, £10 - £12.50

Techno crews Pulse and TLF team up to bring Tommy Four Seven to the capital.

The show brings to life the music of Ireland’s favourite sons The Dubliners.

Acid, Italo, Hi NRG and disco.

ACID BONER (THE LOOKOUT AKA MATTY P)

UNDERWORLD CAFE, FROM 20:00, TBC

SNEAKY PETE’S, FROM 23:00, £5

PULSE X TLF (TOMMY FOUR SEVEN)

13-13 APR, TIMES VARY, £13 - £27.50

Locker Room Talk returns to continue a conversation about misogyny and masculinity which has become even more urgent since its premiere.

RIDE

Live fast die yung, Ride gals do it well. Teacha El and Checkyer Strides play 00s rnb and 90s hip hop and put their lighters up.

SEVEN DRUNKEN NIGHTS: THE STORY OF THE DUBLINERS

Tramway

TNT

Metal, rock and alternative club night.

THE HIVE, FROM 21:00, £0 - £4

HEY QT (MISS WORLD)

A night of classics from yesteryear, including Barry White, Tina Turner, Lionel Richie and Chaka Khan.

CONROY’S BASEMENT, FROM 23:00, TBC

READING ROOMS, FROM 23:00, £6 - £8

Fri 26 Apr

WEE RED BAR, FROM 23:00, £3 - £5

SOUL LEGENDS

12 APR, 7:30PM, £14.90 - £31.90

The All Good lot dig as deep in their bags as possible to play out the best disco records they can find.

The Reading Rooms regulars, All Good invite George FitzGerald along for his small town club debut.

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

Stage adaptation of the BAFTA award-winning film about six steelworkers with nothing to lose – well, except their clothes.

Pitched in a high-stakes competition against each other, four increasingly desperate employees will do anything, legal or otherwise, to sell the most real estate.

Described by Resident Advisor as “one of Edinburgh’s most important outposts for house, techno and bass”. BUBBLEGUM

THE FULL MONTY 23-27 APR, TIMES VARY, £13 - £38.65

SEC

BLOOD UPON THE ROSE

20-21 APR, 6:30PM, £28.40 - £34.05

Blood Upon The Rose, written and directed by Gerry Cunningham, is a sad but true love story set in Dublin during Easter week 1916.

The King’s Theatre ANNIE

15-20 APR, TIMES VARY, £17.50 - £57

A musical set in 1930s New York, Annie tells the story of a flamehaired orphan in pursuit of her real parents.

THE HORROR

This dark and physical performance sees 14 young people try to understand Kultz’s instruction 40 years after Apocalypse Now was first shown. MARK THOMAS – CHECK UP: OUR NHS AT 70

9-11 APR, 7:45PM, £12 - £16

Based on a series of interviews with leading experts in and on the NHS, Mark Thomas uses his own demise to explore the state we’re in. DRONE

11-13 APR, 8:00PM, £8.50 - £11

A live jam of sound, visuals and poetry, telling the true story of a military drone’s life and fears. THE LOST THINGS

16-17 APR, TIMES VARY, £8

Performed in a unique dome structure, The Lost Things is about losing things and finding things you didn’t even know you were looking for. FATHER

17-20 APR, 8:00PM, £8.50 - £11

A relationship of use, abuse and love, Father is a one-woman show, based on a true story of sexual abuse perpetrated by a father on his daughter. A HUNDRED DIFFERENT WORDS FOR LOVE

19-20 APR, 7:45PM, £13 - £17

A hilarious, heart-lifting story of romance, despair, and above all, friendship.

Listings

Theatre Edinburgh Theatre Assembly Roxy ACHILLES

3 APR, 7:45PM, £6 - £10

Glasgow’s acclaimed Company of Wolves re-imagines the myth of Achilles in a heart-stopping solo performance by Ewan Downie. KITH

3 APR, 7:30PM, £8 - £12

A modern-day folktale of war, migration and homecoming. IN-PROCESS: CHASM

7 APR, 7:30PM, £5

Taking as its focal point the 2014 bin lorry crash in George Square, Chasm delves into the lives of three women in Glasgow over the course of two days. WHAT I KNOW (ABOUT WHAT MY GRANDFATHER DIDN’T KNOW)

18 APR, 7:00PM, £8 - £12

Using physicality, micro-cinema and puppetry, Sònia Gardés takes the audience on a journey inside the Spanish Civil War and the pain her family still carries today. THE WAKE-UP CALL

25 APR, 7:00PM, £8 - £12

A serious, urgent and sharply funny theatre piece centred around the process of sleep.

Church Hill Theatre

WHAT GIRLS ARE MADE OF 9-20 APR, 7:30PM, PRICES VARY

Based on her meticulously detailed teenage diaries, this is the true story of Cora Bissett’s rollercoaster journey from the girl she was to the woman she wanted to be.

A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT: CHIC MURRAY- A FUNNY PLACE FOR A WINDOW

9-13 APR, TIMES VARY, £13.50

A musical look back at the ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies of the ‘Comedian’s Comedian’ Chic Murray, who passed away in Edinburgh in 1985.

A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT: LION LION

16-20 APR, TIMES VARY, £13.50

How did George & Joy Adamson react to isolation in the wilderness? Did they conduct themselves like civilised human beings? Or draw from the animals they studied?

A PLAY, A PIE AND A PINT: THE MACK

23-27 APR, TIMES VARY, £13.50

For the second time in four years a fire has torn through Glasgow’s most venerable building. Should we save the Mack or just let it go?

Wee Red Bar

COMMON GROUND AND A MOST UNWARRANTABLE INTRUSION

2-4 APR, 7:30PM, £7.50 - £9

Common Ground and A Most Unwarrantable Intrusion are one-act farces adapted by Joe Simpson and Finlay Cassie from plays by John Maddison Morton.

Dancer Charity Hope Valentine searches for love in the strangest places in New York in the swinging sixties.

Festival Theatre PEPPERLAND

5-6 APR, TIMES VARY, £21.50 - £35

Mark Morris celebrates the 50th anniversary of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band with this new dance work. NORTHERN BALLET: VICTORIA

10-13 APR, TIMES VARY, £13 - £40.50

Northern Ballet’s new biopic, choreographed by Cathy Marston, brings the sensational story of Victoria to life in dance.

King’s Theatre Edinburgh STONES IN HIS POCKETS

2-6 APR, TIMES VARY, £18.50 - £32

Award-winning comedy, starring Owen Sharpe and Kevin Trainor, and directed by Lindsay Posner. ABIGAIL’S PARTY

16-20 APR, TIMES VARY, £18.50 - £32

Mike Leigh’s iconic Abigail’s Party is one of Britain’s most celebrated comedies; beloved by audiences, it thrills and delights in equal measure.

Royal Lyceum Theatre LOCAL HERO

2 APR-4 MAY, TIMES VARY, £10 - £68

A wry comedy about a man who sets out to buy a beach, but ends up losing his heart to a village.

The Basement Theatre

SHORT ATTENTION SPAN THEATRE

10 APR, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

An evening of short plays written and performed by emerging writers specifically for that event.

The Edinburgh Playhouse MATILDA THE MUSICAL

2-27 APR, TIMES VARY, £15 - £89.50

Multi-award winning musical from the Royal Shakespeare Company, inspired by the beloved book by the incomparable Roald Dahl.

Traverse Theatre LOCKER ROOM TALK

17-27 APR, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Locker Room Talk returns to continue a conversation about misogyny and masculinity which has become even more urgent since its premiere.

Listings

YESBAR VIRGINS

NEWS HACKS

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £12

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

Fri 05 Apr

Writer of the long-running hit topical radio show Watson’s Wind Up, Rikki Brown presents a fresh take on the news and those making the news.

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £10 - £12

Fri 12 Apr

THE FRIDAY SHOW

The big weekend show with five comedians. THE EARLY SHOW

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, £10

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit.

FRIDAY NIGHT COMEDY (PHIL ELLIS + GARY LITTLE + TOM WARD)

GLEE CLUB, FROM 19:00, £8 - £20

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

Sat 06 Apr

Dundee Theatre Dundee Rep LETTERS FROM AMERICA

9 APR, 7:30PM, TBC

A heart-warming tale of human endeavour breaking the boundaries of what should be possible for an unsigned artist in today’s industry. LOCKER ROOM TALK

17-27 APR, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Locker Room Talk returns to continue a conversation about misogyny and masculinity which has become even more urgent since its premiere.

The Gardyne Theatre BEAUTY & THE BEAST

1-2 APR, TIMES VARY, £6

Joseph Purdy Productions debut at The Gardyne Theatre with a tale that’s as old as time.

Glasgow Comedy RED RAW

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £3

Legendary new material night with up to 10 acts. GLASGOW HAROLD NIGHT

BLACKFRIARS BASEMENT, FROM 20:00, FREE

One hilarious show, completely improvised by two teams, based off an audience suggestion. Improv comedy at its finest.

Wed 03 Apr

COMEDIAN RAP BATTLES (THE WEE MAN)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £4 - £6

The country’s best comedians battle it out.

NEW MATERIAL COMEDY NIGHT

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering all new material.

Thu 04 Apr THE THURSDAY SHOW

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £7 - £10

Start the weekend early with five comedians.

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £10 - £12

The big weekend show with five comedians. THE EARLY SHOW

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, £10

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit. FRIDAY NIGHT COMEDY (TOM HOUGHTON + JANEY GODLEY + RO CAMPBELL + JOEL DOMMETT)

GLEE CLUB, FROM 19:00, £8 - £20

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

THE EARLY SHOW

Sat 13 Apr

THE SATURDAY SHOW

The big weekend show with five comedians. YESBAR, FROM 19:30, £10

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit. SATURDAY NIGHT COMEDY (PHIL ELLIS + GARY LITTLE + TOM WARD)

GLEE CLUB, FROM 19:00, £8 - £17

An evening of award-winning comedy, with four superb stand-up comedians that will keep you laughing until Monday. MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE (JOHN GAVIN + ROSCO MCLELLAND + SUSAN RIDDELL + RICHARD BROWN)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £5 - £6

Chilled Sunday night laughs to see the weekend out. GLASGOW KIDS COMEDY CLUB

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 15:00, £4

The Stand Comedy Club presents a live stand-up show for younger fans every month.

YESBAR VIRGINS: COMEDY SUNDAY SCHOOL

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

A selection of five fledgling comedians do their best to win over the audience and graduate Yesbar’s Comedy Sunday School.

COMEDYMANIA GLASGOW (AURIE STYLA + TRAVIS JAY + AXEL BLAKE + BABATUNDE) GLEE CLUB, FROM 19:00, £15

The laugh riot travels to Scotland.

Mon 08 Apr

MONDAY NIGHT IMPROV (BILLY KIRKWOOD + STU MURPHY + GARRY DOBSON)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £3

Comedian improv battle.

Tue 09 Apr

RED RAW (KIMI LOUGHTON + STUART MITCHELL)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £3

Legendary new material night with up to 10 acts. LIGHT BULB

Tue 02 Apr

THE FRIDAY SHOW (GARY LITTLE + JAY LAFFERTY + PAUL MARSH + STEPHEN HALKETT + MARTIN MOR)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 21:00, £17.50

Sun 07 Apr

SWEET CHARITY

16-20 APR, 7:30PM, £17 - £19

Comedy

BLACKFRIARS BASEMENT, FROM 20:00, FREE

Stand-up, characters and sketches for fans of weird and silly things.

Wed 10 Apr BBC COMEDY PRESENTS

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £4

Join BBC Comedy and The Stand for a night of brand new comedy. NEW MATERIAL COMEDY NIGHT

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering all new material.

Thu 11 Apr

THE THURSDAY SHOW (GARY LITTLE + JAY LAFFERTY + PAUL MARSH + STEPHEN HALKETT + MARTIN MOR) THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £7 - £10

Start the weekend early with five comedians. YESBAR VIRGINS

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

THE SATURDAY SHOW (GARY LITTLE + JAY LAFFERTY + PAUL MARSH + STEPHEN HALKETT + MARTIN MOR) THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 21:00, £17.50

The big weekend show with five comedians. THE EARLY SHOW

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, £10

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit. SATURDAY NIGHT COMEDY (TOM HOUGHTON + JANEY GODLEY + RO CAMPBELL + JOEL DOMMETT)

GLEE CLUB, FROM 19:00, £8 - £17

An evening of award-winning comedy, with four superb stand-up comedians that will keep you laughing until Monday.

Sun 14 Apr

MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £5 - £6

Chilled Sunday night laughs to see the weekend out. YESBAR VIRGINS: COMEDY SUNDAY SCHOOL

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

A selection of five fledgling comedians do their best to win over the audience and graduate Yesbar’s Comedy Sunday School.

Sat 20 Apr

THE SATURDAY SHOW (DAVE FULTON + STEPHEN CARLIN + PHIL DIFFER + KRYSTAL EVANS + RAYMOND MEARNS)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 21:00, £17.50

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit.

SATURDAY NIGHT COMEDY (LEO KEARSE + SEAN COLLINS + GARY MEIKLE + KIRI PRITCHARD-MCLEAN)

GLEE CLUB, FROM 19:00, £8 - £17

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering all new material.

Thu 18 Apr

THE THURSDAY SHOW (DAVE FULTON + STEPHEN CARLIN + PHIL DIFFER + KRYSTAL EVANS + RAYMOND MEARNS)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £9 - £10

YESBAR VIRGINS: COMEDY SUNDAY SCHOOL

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

A selection of five fledgling comedians do their best to win over the audience and graduate Yesbar’s Comedy Sunday School. BILAL ZAFAR: LOVEBOTS

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 18:00, £12

In Lovebots, Bilal has made his own bots to fight back, except these bots only want to spread love and compassion.

Tue 23 Apr

RED RAW (ROSCO MCLELLAND + MC HAMMERSMITH)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £3

Legendary new material night with up to 10 acts.

Wed 24 Apr

NEW MATERIAL COMEDY NIGHT

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering all new material. RACHEL JACKSON AND FRIENDS

TRON THEATRE, FROM 20:30, £8.50

A brand new comedy show hosted by Rachel Jackson, with a changing line-up of comedians.

Thu 25 Apr

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £7 - £10

YESBAR VIRGINS

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland. GEAROID FARRELLY: HOME TRUTHS

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 18:00, £7 - £8

Gearóid Farrelly brings his brand of chatty stand up comedy on tour, addressing everything from Trump to decluttering and explaining why you shouldn’t toilet train a cat. DEE MAXWELL: SURVIVAL KIT OF A COUNCIL SESH

ORAN MOR, FROM 19:00, £15

Start the weekend early with five comedians. YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

Fri 26 Apr

YESBAR VIRGINS

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

Fri 19 Apr

THE FRIDAY SHOW (DAVE FULTON + STEPHEN CARLIN + PHIL DIFFER + KRYSTAL EVANS + RAYMOND MEARNS) THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £10 - £12

The big weekend show with five comedians. THE EARLY SHOW

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, £10

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit.

FRIDAY NIGHT COMEDY (LEO KEARSE + SEAN COLLINS + GARY MEIKLE + KIRI PRITCHARD-MCLEAN) GLEE CLUB, FROM 19:00, £8 - £20

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

GLEE CLUB, FROM 19:00, £8 - £17

THE COMEDY SHOW (ASHLEY STORRIE + ROSCO MCCLELLAND + STEPHEN BUCHANAN + MAX & IVAN)

SATURDAY NIGHT COMEDY (SUSIE MCCABE + ANDY ROBINSON + ROSCO MCCLELLAND)

Sun 28 Apr

Celebrate the Bank Holiday in style with a night of top comedy.

THE FRIDAY SHOW (KEITH FARNAN + STEPHEN BUCHANAN + RACHEL JACKSON + MARC JENNINGS + JANEY GODLEY) THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £10 - £12

The big weekend show with five comedians. THE EARLY SHOW

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, £10

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit.

FRIDAY NIGHT COMEDY (SUSIE MCCABE + ANDY ROBINSON + ROSCO MCCLELLAND)

GLEE CLUB, FROM 19:00, £8 - £20

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

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG FRIDAY SHOW

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £10 - £12

Sun 21 Apr

BANK HOLIDAY SPECIAL (DAVE FULTON + STEPHEN CARLIN + PHIL DIFFER + AMY MATTHEWS + MICHAEL REDMOND)

The big weekend show with five comedians.

Resident MC Viv Gee hosts a weekend comedy club with some of the best comedians on the circuit.

An evening of award-winning comedy, with four superb stand-up comedians that will keep you laughing until Monday.

Inspired by fellow Scottish comedians Billy Connolly and Kevin Bridges, Dee Maxwell presents her new show.

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £7 - £10

THE EARLY SHOW

An evening of award-winning comedy, with four superb stand-up comedians that will keep you laughing until Monday.

Start the weekend early with five comedians.

NEW MATERIAL COMEDY NIGHT

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £10 - £12

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, £10

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £3

Wed 17 Apr

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 21:00, £17.50

YESBAR, FROM 19:30, £10

Tue 16 Apr

Legendary new material night with up to 10 acts.

THE FRIDAY SHOW (IMRAN YUSUF + JARLATH REGAN + MARC JENNINGS + RACHEL MURPHY + SUSAN MORRISON)

The big weekend show with five comedians.

THE EARLY SHOW

Fri 05 Apr

THE SATURDAY SHOW (KEITH FARNAN + STEPHEN BUCHANAN + RACHEL JACKSON + MARC JENNINGS + JANEY GODLEY)

The big weekend show with five comedians.

THE THURSDAY SHOW (KEITH FARNAN + STEPHEN BUCHANAN + RACHEL JACKSON + MARC JENNINGS + JANEY GODLEY)

RED RAW (JOHN GAVIN + TOM HOUGHTON)

Sat 27 Apr

MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE (MC HAMMERSMITH + LEE KYLE + KIMI LOUGHTON + JOHN AGGASILD)

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £5 - £6

Chilled Sunday night laughs to see the weekend out. YESBAR VIRGINS: COMEDY SUNDAY SCHOOL

YESBAR, FROM 20:00, £3

A selection of five fledgling comedians do their best to win over the audience and graduate Yesbar’s Comedy Sunday School. LEE KYLE: KICKING POTATOES INTO THE SEA

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 18:00, £7 - £8

Have you ever kicked potatoes into the sea? Lee Kyle has. It was a lot of fun but it doesn’t solve any of your problems.

Mon 29 Apr

MICKY P. KERR: Z-LIST CELEBRITY

THE STAND GLASGOW, FROM 20:30, £15

In June 2018, Micky P. Kerr was rocketed to stardom when he appeared on Britain’s Got Talent. Now, he’s been brought back into his comfort zone as a Z-List Celebrity.

Edinburgh Comedy Tue 02 Apr PROJECT X

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £0 - £3

Iain Campbell hosts an experimental and new ideas alternative comedy showcase.

CHRISTOPHER MACARTHUR-BOYD: HOME SWEET HOME

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £9 - £10

The critically acclaimed debut hour from one of the hottest prospects in Scottish stand-up.

Wed 03 Apr VIVA LA SHAMBLES

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 20:00, £10 - £12

Bringing you top notch line ups from the best in the world of comedy for a side-splitting evening every Friday and Saturday at 8pm.

Sat 06 Apr

THE SATURDAY SHOW (IMRAN YUSUF + JARLATH REGAN + MARC JENNINGS + RACHEL MURPHY + SUSAN MORRISON)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £17.50

The big weekend show with five comedians. MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG SATURDAY SHOW

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £14

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

THE COMEDY SHOW (ASHLEY STORRIE + ROSCO MCCLELLAND + STEPHEN BUCHANAN + MAX & IVAN)

THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 20:00, £10 - £12

Bringing you top notch line ups from the best in the world of comedy for a side-splitting evening every Friday and Saturday at 8pm.

Sun 07 Apr

STU & GARRY’S FREE IMPROV SHOW

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 13:30, FREE

Improvised comedy at its very best. MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG SUNDAY SHOW

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £0 - £5

THE THURSDAY SHOW (IMRAN YUSUF + JARLATH REGAN + MARC JENNINGS + RACHEL MURPHY + SUSAN MORRISON)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £7 - £10

Start the weekend early with five comedians. SPONTANEOUS SHERLOCK

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £5

An entirely improvised Sherlock Holmes comedy play from Scotland’s hottest improv troupe.

FRINGE PREVIEW: MAX & IVAN (WIS JANTARASORN + MEGHAN SHANDLEY)

THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 20:00, £5

Some of the UK’s best comedians give you a sneak peak at their Fringe shows.

THE FRIDAY SHOW (STU & GARRY + MARY BOURKE + CHRIS BETTS + KIMI LOUGHTON + JOJO SUTHERLAND)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £10 - £12

The big weekend show with five comedians. MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG FRIDAY SHOW

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £10 - £12

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

THE COMEDY SHOW (CHRIS FORBES + EDDY BRIMSON + ESTHER MANITO + ALFIE BROWN) THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 20:00, £10 - £12

Bringing you top notch line ups from the best in the world of comedy for a side-splitting evening every Friday and Saturday at 8pm.

Sat 13 Apr

THE SATURDAY SHOW (STU & GARRY + MARY BOURKE + CHRIS BETTS + KIMI LOUGHTON + JOJO SUTHERLAND)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £17.50

The big weekend show with five comedians. MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG SATURDAY SHOW

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £14

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy. COMEDY KIDS (JAY LAFFERTY)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 14:00, £5

Comedy Kids is a fun-filled show packed with stand-up, sketches and improv performed by the comics of the future.

THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 20:00, £10 - £12

The multi-award-winning IrishIranian comedian and Edinburgh Fringe favourite, performs his brand new stand up show.

Bringing you top notch line ups from the best in the world of comedy for a side-splitting evening every Friday and Saturday at 8pm.

Mon 08 Apr

Sun 14 Apr

PATRICK MONAHAN: #GOALS!

RED RAW (GARETH WAUGH + EDDY BRIMSON)

STU & GARRY’S FREE IMPROV SHOW

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 13:30, FREE

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £3

Improvised comedy at its very best.

PETER PANCAKES’ COMEDY EXTRAVAGANZA

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £0 - £5

Legendary new material night with up to 10 acts. MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:30, FREE

Phil O’Shea brings a handpicked selection of riotous lols to Monkey Barrel.

The recording of legendary comedian Jo Caulfield’s stand-up special for BBC Radio 4.

Thu 04 Apr

Fri 12 Apr

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £10 - £12

TOP BANANA

Monkey Barrel’s comedy competition for new folk on the scene.

BELTER COMEDY

THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 20:00, £6

Bringing you the best and brightest of the comedy scene, showcasing brand new gags alongside tried and tested material.

THE COMEDY SHOW (CHRIS FORBES + EDDY BRIMSON + ESTHER MANITO + ALFIE BROWN)

JO CAULFIELD: STAND UP SPECIAL FOR BBC RADIO 4 (ROSIE JONES)

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £0 - £3

A brand new Harry Potter play from some of Edinburgh’s most top notch improv wizards.

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £4 - £5

Anarchic comedy mayhem from Scotland’s finest young acts.

SPONTANEOUS POTTER MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £5

THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 19:30, FREE

Tue 09 Apr

BONA FIDE (JAY LAFFERTY)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £5 - £6

New comedy show with a different theme every month. PROJECT X

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £0 - £3

Iain Campbell hosts an experimental and new ideas alternative comedy showcase.

Wed 10 Apr TOP BANANA

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £0 - £3

Monkey Barrel’s comedy competition for new folk on the scene. JULIAN CLARY: BORN TO MINCE

THE QUEEN’S HALL, FROM 19:30, £27

Outrageously camp new show from the comedy legend.

Thu 11 Apr

THE THURSDAY SHOW (STU & GARRY + MARY BOURKE + CHRIS BETTS + KIMI LOUGHTON + JOJO SUTHERLAND)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £7 - £10

Start the weekend early with five comedians.

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG SUNDAY SHOW

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

FRED MACAULAY IN CONVERSATION

THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 17:00, £8 - £10

Fred MacAulay, one of Scotland’s best-loved stand-ups, is back with his monthly live chat show. Joining Fred will be stars from the worlds of sport, entertainment, business and politics. JAMIE MACDONALD: DESIGNATED DRIVER

THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £8 - £10

Foot to the floor comedy courtesy of that funny blind guy; charming, disarming, eye-opening comedy brought to you by the critically acclaimed Glaswegian.

Mon 15 Apr

RED RAW (JAMIE DALGLEISH)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £3

Legendary new material night with up to 10 acts. CABARET FROM ELSEWHERE

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £5

Elsewhere is a troupe of artists, musicians and circus performers. Find them staging shows, telling stories or playing music and games anywhere people gather in celebration.

Tue 16 Apr PROJECT X

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £0 - £3

Iain Campbell hosts an experimental and new ideas alternative comedy showcase.

THE SKINNY

Wed 17 Apr TOP BANANA

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £0 - £3

Monkey Barrel’s comedy competition for new folk on the scene.

THE END OF THE WORLD SHOW (STU MURPHY + VLADIMIR MCTAVISH + KEIR MCALLISTER)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £5 - £7

Armageddon is not so much nigh as teabagging the world in the face. So now that we’ve bought the tickets to Hell in a handcart and this really is the end of civilisation, surely we can still find the time to trivialise it? THE COMEDY SHOW: NEW SH*T

THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 20:00, FREE

The Comedy Show’s wee sister, where old pros and new talent try out fresh material for free.

Thu 18 Apr

THE THURSDAY SHOW (JO CAULFIELD + RAY BADRAN + JOHN GAVIN + STEPHEN BUCHANAN + MARTIN MOR) THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £7 - £10

Start the weekend early with five comedians.

JESUS L’OREAL: NAILED IT THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £8 - £10

Jesus L’Oreal returns once again to complete the Holy Trinity with another high-octane show of song, dance and Jehovah’s Fitness.

Mon 22 Apr

RED RAW (JAY LAFFERTY + MC HAMMERSMITH)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £3

Legendary new material night with up to 10 acts. MONKEY NUT LIVE

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £5

A monthly round-up featuring sketch, character, musical and stand-up comedy all from the minds of Joe McTernan, Megan Shandley and Jojo Sutherland.

Tue 23 Apr PROJECT X

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £0 - £3

Iain Campbell hosts an experimental and new ideas alternative comedy showcase.

SPONTANEOUS SHERLOCK

Wed 24 Apr

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £5

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £0 - £3

An entirely improvised Sherlock Holmes comedy play from Scotland’s hottest improv troupe. SONNET YOUTH

THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 20:00, £5

Sonnet Youth is a spoken word house party curated and hosted by Kevin P. Gilday and Cat Hepburn.

Fri 19 Apr

THE FRIDAY SHOW (JO CAULFIELD + RAY BADRAN + JOHN GAVIN + STEPHEN BUCHANAN + MARTIN MOR) THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £10 - £12

The big weekend show with five comedians. MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG FRIDAY SHOW

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £10 - £12

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

THE COMEDY SHOW (SCOTT GIBSON + JO CAULFIELD + CHRISTOPHER MACARTHUR-BOYD + GARY LITTLE) THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 20:00, £10 - £12

Bringing you top notch line ups from the best in the world of comedy for a side-splitting evening every Friday and Saturday at 8pm.

Sat 20 Apr

THE SATURDAY SHOW (JO CAULFIELD + RAY BADRAN + JOHN GAVIN + STEPHEN BUCHANAN + MARTIN MOR) THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £17.50

The big weekend show with five comedians. MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG SATURDAY SHOW

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £14

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

THE COMEDY SHOW (SCOTT GIBSON + JO CAULFIELD + CHRISTOPHER MACARTHUR-BOYD + GARY LITTLE) THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 20:00, £10 - £12

Bringing you top notch line ups from the best in the world of comedy for a side-splitting evening every Friday and Saturday at 8pm. BILAL ZAFAR: LOVEBOTS

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 17:00, £12

In Lovebots, Bilal has made his own bots to fight back, except these bots only want to spread love and compassion.

Sun 21 Apr

BANK HOLIDAY SPECIAL (JO CAULFIELD + RAY BADRAN + MC HAMMERSMITH + KRYSTAL EVANS + MARTIN MOR)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £9 - £10

Celebrate the Bank Holiday in style with a night of top comedy. STU & GARRY’S FREE IMPROV SHOW

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 13:30, FREE

Improvised comedy at its very best. MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG SUNDAY SHOW

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £0 - £5

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

TOP BANANA

Monkey Barrel’s comedy competition for new folk on the scene. TOM STADE: I SWEAR TO…

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £17.50

The Canadian comedy legend is back with a new show, I Swear To…, picking up just where he left off as an hour simply wasn’t long enough. AN EVENING OF ERIC AND ERN

KING’S THEATRE EDINBURGH, FROM 19:30, £25

An homage to the West End hit Eric & Little Ern, crammed full of renditions of those famous comedy sketches.

Thu 25 Apr

THE THURSDAY SHOW (ROGER MONKHOUSE + ASHLEY STORRIE + BEN VAN DER VELDE + GARETH MUTCH + JOJO SUTHERLAND) THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £7 - £10

Start the weekend early with five comedians. SPONTANEOUS POTTER

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £5

A brand new Harry Potter play from some of Edinburgh’s most top notch improv wizards. BESOMS (JAY LAFFERTY)

THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 20:00, £6

A monthly night bringing you the best from across comedy’s glorious communities, hosted by self-confessed cheeky besom Jay Lafferty. WILLNE & STEPHEN TRIES LIVE

FESTIVAL THEATRE, FROM 19:00, £21.49 - £41.19

YouTube personalities and friends (sort of) WillNE and Stephen Tries embark on a UK tour.

Fri 26 Apr

THE FRIDAY SHOW (ROGER MONKHOUSE + ASHLEY STORRIE + BEN VAN DER VELDE + GARETH MUTCH + JOJO SUTHERLAND) THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £10 - £12

The big weekend show with five comedians. MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG FRIDAY SHOW

THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 20:00, £10 - £12

Bringing you top notch line ups from the best in the world of comedy for a side-splitting evening every Friday and Saturday at 8pm. GEAROID FARRELLY: HOME TRUTHS

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 17:00, £7 - £8

Gearóid Farrelly brings his brand of chatty stand up comedy on tour, addressing everything from Trump to decluttering and explaining why you shouldn’t toilet train a cat.

Sun 28 Apr

THE SUNDAY NIGHT LAUGH-IN (JOHN GAVIN + DONALD ALEXANDER + AMY MATTHEWS + MATT WATSON + LIAM WITHNAIL) THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £5 - £6

Chilled Sunday night comedy to see out the weekend. STU & GARRY’S FREE IMPROV SHOW

Sat 27 Apr

THE SATURDAY SHOW (ROGER MONKHOUSE + ASHLEY STORRIE + BEN VAN DER VELDE + GARETH MUTCH + JOJO SUTHERLAND) THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £17.50

The big weekend show with five comedians. MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG SATURDAY SHOW

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

Danish artist Rolf Nowotny presents a new work based around the subject of dementia.

Glasgow Print Studio

SCOTT CAMPBELL: 20 YEARS OF MONOTYPES

5 APR-2 JUN, TIMES VARY, FREE

A retrospective exhibition of monotypes by master printmaker Scott Campbell showing progression in style and skill.

FEATURED ARTIST: SANDI ANDERSON

5-28 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

STALKING THE IMAGE: MARGARET TAIT AND HER LEGACY

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy. JOJO SUTHERLAND & SUSAN MORRISON: FANNY’S AHOY!

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 17:30, £4 - £5

Set sail with the award-winning grand dames of Scottish comedy as they navigate you through rough seas with their distinctly comedic take on life.

GoMA

1 APR-5 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

This exhibition provides an opportunity to honour Tait’s achievements in her centenary year alongside work by nine contemporary artists and filmmakers.

Mary Mary EMILY MAE SMITH

13 APR-25 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

Mon 29 Apr

New York-based, Texas-born artist Emily Mae Smith presents new work at Mary Mary.

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 20:30, £3

New Glasgow Society

RED RAW (LIAM WITHNAIL + GARETH WAUGH)

Legendary new material night with up to 10 acts.

GEORGIA GRINTER: CROSS WORDS

5-7 APR, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Dundee Comedy Wed 03 Apr

LOST VOICE GUY: I’M ONLY IN IT FOR THE PARKING

DUNDEE REP, FROM 19:30, £9 - £17

Following the unprecedented success of his appearance on the final of Britain’s Got Talent 2018, Lee Ridley (AKA Lost Voice Guy) is setting out on a tour of the UK.

Sat 06 Apr

RAYMOND MEARNS: CONFESSIONS OF A CONTROL FREAK

THE GARDYNE THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £10 - £12

This recent body of work explores intimate, everyday moments of human expression, shielded by contrived or socially aware acts.

Project Ability EARTH ECHO AFFECTIVE REFLECTION

2-27 APR, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A solo exhibition accompanied by a sound piece composed and created by Glasgow-based artist Pum and Gordon Kennedy.

RGI Kelly Gallery

FRASER TAYLOR: STAGE

6 APR-4 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

Fraser Taylor is a Glasgow-based interdisciplinary visual artist whose studio practice is rooted in drawing.

Just another day in the life of Raymond Mearns, an argumentative, raging, judgmental, grammar Nazi.

Street Level Photoworks

Sat 13 Apr

2-7 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

JAMIE MACDONALD: DESIGNATED DRIVER

THE GARDYNE THEATRE, FROM 19:30, £10 - £12

Foot to the floor comedy courtesy of that funny blind guy; charming, disarming, eye-opening comedy brought to you by the critically acclaimed Glaswegian.

ARPITA SHAH: NALINI

Arpita Shah’s Nalini is an ongoing series of work that focuses on her mother, her grandmother and herself. It explores the intimacy between the three of them and how their histories, memories and physical bodies are entangled and connected to one another.

The Lighthouse REFLECTING MACKINTOSH COLLECTION

THE COMEDY SHOW (SCOTT AGNEW + JOE SUTHERLAND + ROBIN GRAINGER + TOM LUCY)

Bringing you top notch line ups from the best in the world of comedy for a side-splitting evening every Friday and Saturday at 8pm.

ROLF NOWOTNY: DEMENTIA

6 APR-11 MAY, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £0 - £5

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY’S BIG SUNDAY SHOW

CCA: Centre for Contemporary Art

THE BASEMENT THEATRE, FROM 20:00, £10 - £12

David Dale Gallery and Studios

Featuring recent works in print by Sandi Anderson.

THE STAND EDINBURGH, FROM 13:30, FREE

Glasgow Art

Monkey Barrel’s flagship night of premier stand-up comedy.

Art

Improvised comedy at its very best.

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £10 - £12

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY CLUB, FROM 19:00, £14

April 2019

THE COMEDY SHOW (SCOTT AGNEW + JOE SUTHERLAND + ROBIN GRAINGER + TOM LUCY)

INTERMEDIA: JENNIFER CLEWS – THE LURE OF COMPLETENESS

2-14 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

An imagined physical response to the holographic model of reality, perceived by human ability to have two distinct yet overlapping levels: a two-dimensional ocean of energy, and a three-dimensional concrete image. SHADI HABIB ALLAH: FREE REIN

20 APR-2 JUN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Shadi Habib Allah’s exhibition at CCA explores the legacies of government welfare policies, examining how local areas adapt and survive in response to changes of city planning and strategy over time.

1 APR-16 JUN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Craft Design House presents a bespoke collection of original pieces by designer makers, celebrating Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s 150th anniversary. ANDREW TIBBLES: AI: OH, AYE!

1-28 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition exploring what the future of democracy could look like with technology at its heart. V&A: WOMAN’S HOUR CRAFT PRIZE

1 APR-26 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

The Woman’s Hour Craft Prize is the most comprehensive of its kind, established to find and celebrate the most innovative and exciting craft practitioner or designer-maker resident in the UK today.

The Modern Institute

ANDREW KERR: MIST AT THE PILLARS

1 APR-11 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

New work by Glasgow-based artist Andrew Kerr.

The Modern Institute @ Airds Lane

JEREMY DELLER: EVERYBODY IN THE PLACE, AN INCOMPLETE HISTORY OF BRITAIN 1984-1992

4 APR-11 MAY, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE

Conceptual, video and installation artist, Jeremy Deller presents a new work at The Modern Institute. SPENCER SWEENEY: THE PASTELS

4 APR-11 MAY, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE

SALT 19-28 APR, 12:00PM – 6:00PM, FREE

SALT is a group exhibition which explores the theme of preserving the ‘contemporary moment’ through the lens of politics, history, ephemerality, chaos and social currency through interdisciplinary media.

Ingleby Gallery SOMETIMES I DISAPPEAR

3-13 APR, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

New York-based artist, musician, DJ and club owner Spencer Sweeney presents new work at The Modern Institute.

An exhibition of photographic works by four artists: Zanele Muholi, Cindy Sherman, Oana Stanciu and Francesca Woodman.

Tramway

27 APR-13 JUL, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

KRIS LEMSALU

2-7 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Tramway presents a new body of works by renowned Estonian artist Kris Lemsalu just before she represents Estonia at the Venice Biennale 2019. GORBALS HERITAGE PROJECT: THRIVING PLACE

5-24 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Through drawings, films, writing and photography, Thriving Place explores the Gorbals area and the rich cultural heritage. PIA CAMIL: BARA BARA BARA

13 APR-23 JUN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Tramway presents the first solo exhibition in Scotland by Mexico City-based artist Pia Camil. This immersive installation hosts new and existing textile sculptures which visitors are invited to inhabit and activate.

Edinburgh Art Arusha Gallery THOMAS ADAM: LIGHTNING WITHOUT THUNDER

1-7 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Thomas Adam’s aluminium installations and etchings explore the intersection of the mundane and fantastical. CASPER WHITE

12 APR-5 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

Casper White’s paintings on aluminium and zinc are some of the best in contemporary portraiture. He recently won the prestigious BP Portrait Travel Award.

City Art Centre

IN FOCUS: SCOTTISH PHOTOGRAPHY

1 APR-12 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

In Focus: Scottish Photography showcases the City Art Centre’s photographic collections, charting the development of fine art photography in Scotland from the 19th century to present day.

Collective Gallery

PETRA BAUER AND SCOT-PEP: WORKERS!

13 APR-30 JUN, 10:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE

Workers! is a new film resulting from a long-term collaboration between Collective, HER Film, Swedish artist and filmmaker Petra Bauer and SCOT-PEP, a sex-worker led organisation in Scotland. KATIE SHANNON: THE LAST SONG FOR A WATERBABY

2 APR-5 MAY, 10:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE

Katie Shannon moves between sound, image, print, sculpture and video to explore the alliances and collective experiences that form on dancefloors.

Dovecot Studios ORLA KIELY: A LIFE IN PATTERN

1-30 APR, 10:30AM – 5:30PM, £0 - £9

This exhibition offers a privileged insight into Orla Kiely’s world, and explores the story of pattern and how some designs can come to epitomise the style of their time.

Embassy Gallery SA-LON , SUCKERS

4-6 APR, 12:00PM – 6:00PM, FREE

Sa-lon, Suckers is EMBASSY’s annual members’ show. This year it features a diverse range of practices and showcases the work of the gallery’s ‘pukkaaa’ emerging artists.

THE GATES OF ONOMATOPOEIA

A new exhibition of drawings, sculptures and text by Charles Avery representing aspects of a lifelong project called The Islanders.

Museum of Childhood BRINGING UP BABY

Scottish The Fruitmarket National Portrait Gallery SENGA NENGUDI Gallery 1 APR-26 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE THE MODERN PORTRAIT

1 APR-27 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

A display collating paintings, sculptures and works from the Portrait Gallery’s twentiethcentury collection, feat. a variety of well-known faces, from Ramsay Macdonald to Alan Cumming, Tilda Swinton to Danny McGrain. HEROES AND HEROINES

1 APR-31 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

1 APR-26 JAN 20, TIMES VARY, FREE

Dundee Art

ART AND ANALYSIS: TWO NETHERLANDISH PAINTERS WORKING IN JACOBEAN SCOTLAND

A small exhibition focusing on two 17th century artists, Adrian Vanson and Adam de Colone. IN FOCUS: THE EXECUTION OF CHARLES I

National Museum of Scotland

THE REMAKING OF SCOTLAND | NATION, MIGRATION, GLOBALISATION 1760-1860

1 APR-5 MAY, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £0 - £10

From early mechanised human forms to today’s cutting-edge technology, this major exhibition reveals our 500-year quest to make machines human, featuring more than 100 objects.

Open Eye Gallery

PETER THOMSON RGI RSW: EYE OF THE DAY

5-29 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition by Glasgow-based artist Peter Thomson RGI RSW, who is known for his figurative and landscape based oil paintings. ALICE MCMURROUGH RGI RSW PAI: OPEN SECRETS

5-29 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Alice McMurrough’s intriguing paintings are concerned with the connectivity of experience. Ideas, observations and dreams are researched, edited and translated into visual statements.

Patriothall Gallery PIXEL PLAYGROUNDS

5-21 APR, 12:00PM – 6:00PM, FREE

Solo exhibition of new abstract paintings by Hannah Nugent, inspired by retro digital aesthetics.

Royal Scottish Academy RSA

RSA NEW CONTEMPORARIES 2019

1-3 APR, TIMES VARY, £0 - £6

Now in its eleventh year, this carefully curated exhibition offers a unique opportunity to see some of Scotland’s finest emerging talent under one roof, showcasing 63 graduates selected from the 2018 degree shows.

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

NOW: MONSTER CHETWYND, MOYNA FLANNIGAN, HENRY COOMBES, BETYE SAAR, WAEL SHAWKY

1-28 APR, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

At the centre of the fourth instalment of the NOW series of contemporary art exhibitions at Modern One is a major survey of work by the Turner Prize nominated artist Monster Chetwynd.

ANDY WARHOL AND EDUARDO PAOLOZZI: I WANT TO BE A MACHINE

1 APR-2 JUN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Taking its theme from a muchquoted remark by Andy Warhol, this exhibition examines Warhol’s and Paolozzi’s work, showing how they captured images from photography and advertisements.

STAINS & STONES

1-20 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition of works by artist Charlotte Roseberry, a personal collection of recent oil paintings, exploring the complexities and nuances of motherhood.

1 APR-26 JAN 20, TIMES VARY, FREE

ROBOTS

Upright Gallery

A re-examination of major Scottish figures which questions our habit of framing history around individuals and idols.

1 APR-29 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE

A new exhibition exploring the choices and challenges faced by parents, featuring a range of objects from the museum’s collection.

The first solo institutional exhibition of the work of Senga Nengudi outside the United States brings together pioneering sculpture, photography and documentation of performance from 1969 to the present.

An exhibition centred around a painting of the execution of Charles I – based on eye-witness accounts and contemporary engravings – by an unknown Dutch artist.

1 APR-21 JUN 20, TIMES VARY, FREE

An exhibition exploring the lives and careers of the Scots behind the period of dramatic change between 1760 and 1860, when Scotland rapidly attained a central role in European cultural life and in Britain’s industrial and imperial expansion. BEINGS

1-28 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

In this interactive exhibition addressing well-being, young people explore their feelings by creating new art in direct response to particular works of art from the Scottish National Portrait Gallery’s collection. ARTIST ROOMS: WOODMAN, ARBUS AND MAPPLETHORPE

6 APR-20 OCT, TIMES VARY, FREE

Celebrating the work of three of the twentieth century’s most influential photographers, with a particular focus on self-portraiture and representation.

Stills

AMBIT: PHOTOGRAPHIES FROM SCOTLAND

12 APR-2 JUN, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

AMBIT is an exhibition of work celebrating new and diverse approaches to photographic image making in Scotland. STILLS HOSTS: BEYOND THE INVISIBLE

1-8 APR, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Renowned photographer Rankin will showcase new work from a unique collaboration with life savings company Standard Life and charity Endometriosis UK.

Summerhall

FRAG'M NT (TERRA NON-FIRMA)

6 APR-19 MAY, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Frag'm nt (Terra non-firma) brings together two recent recipients of Lateral Lab’s Robert Callender International Residency for Young Artists, Russell Beard and Stephen Kavanagh. LOUISE MACKENZIE: PITHOS (ONE POSSIBLE STORY OF OUR LIVELY MATERIAL)

6 APR-19 MAY, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Works in film, installation and participatory performance reimagine the myth of Pandora for the biotechnological era. AURÉLIE FONTAN: TENSENGRITY

6 APR-19 MAY, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Tensegrity demonstrates the positive combination of craft and technology, essentially based on science imagery and disciplines.

Cooper Gallery

ANNE-MARIE COPESTAKE: LOOKING IN EITHER DIRECTION...

1-13 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Looking in either direction the whole street was filled with people, some singing, moving towards x... is a vivid mediation on the politics of the unsung, unuttered and the tangible passion of collectivity in the everyday.

DCA: Dundee Contemporary Arts DAVID AUSTEN: UNDERWORLD

1 APR-9 JUN, TIMES VARY, FREE

This exhibition will offer up a new constellation of work by British artist David Austen, bringing the breadth of his artistic practice to audiences in Scotland for the first time.

The McManus

AS WE SEE IT: TWENTIETH CENTURY SCOTTISH ART

1 APR-22 DEC, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Exploring the innovative and diverse approaches artists have taken in their creative practice. Whether representing the real world, abstracting elements from it or depicting a realm from the imagination, each artwork is unique and individual.

WISE WAYS: TRAVELS OF A DUNDEE DOCTOR

1 APR-25 AUG, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Thanks to a loan from the British Library, this exhibition reunites the maps and objects collected by physician and surgeon Dr Thomas Alexander Wise.

V&A Dundee MAEVE REDMOND

1 APR-15 SEP 20, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A compelling piece of graphic design that unpacks the wider context around a 19th century trade catalogue by cast iron manufacturers Walter MacFarlane & Co. CIARA PHILLIPS

1 APR-15 SEP 20, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A new commission, championing the often-unseen process of making by evoking a moment suspended in time where vital decisions about materials and their composition are made. SCOTTISH DESIGN GALLERIES

1 APR-15 SEP 20, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Explore the everyday relevance of design and how it improves our lives, experience the processes that underpin it and discover little-known stories of Scottish design with international impact. VIDEOGAMES: DESIGN/PLAY/ DISRUPT

20 APR-8 SEP, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, TBC

Gain a unique insight into the design process behind a selection of groundbreaking contemporary videogames.

Talbot Rice Gallery BORDERLINES

1 APR-4 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

Borderlines is a group exhibition that gives form to the conceptual, geo-political, economic and cultural impacts of borders.

Listings

THE SKINNY