60 minute read
Looking forward to HANG Scotland’s first ever hip-hop and grime music conference.
by The Skinny
Pass the Mic
Ahead of HANG, Scotland’s first-ever hip-hop and grime music conference, we speak to Khaleda Noon from Intercultural Youth Scotland and Sami Omar from Up2Standard
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Interview: Rachel Bowles
HANG (Hip-hop Aimed Networking with Grime) is Scotland’s first-ever grime and hip-hop music conference launching this summer with a one day, can’t miss interdisciplinary line-up of panels, workshops and live music. Featuring the likes of BBC Radio 1Xtra’s Tiffany Calver, 2020 SAY Award-winner Nova, and Aberdeen grime artist Ransom FA to name but a few, HANG brings together talent, labels and industry experts from across the UK for a free, all-ages event designed for aspiring artists and fans alike. To celebrate its inauguration, The Skinny catches up with two of HANG’s finest guests – award-winning Khaleda Noon, executive director and founder of non-profit Intercultural Youth Scotland (IYS), and pioneering Sami Omar, the man behind Scotland’s premier grime platform Up2Standard. (The following has been edited for length and clarity.)
The Skinny: Hi guys! Can you introduce yourselves, please?
Sami Omar: I’m Sami, founder of Up2Standard. Growing up, I had a big passion for music but we had nowhere to go and record at a professional level. It pushed me to set up our
Photo: Khadija Moustafa Sami Omar
affiliate studios in 2014. As our network grew, we felt there was another gap in the market in terms of infrastructure. We needed a platform for our own community in Scotland, hence the birth of Up2Standard. We bridge the gap between the artists’ product and the consumer.
Khaleda Noon: I’m Khaleda Noon, executive director of IYS, Scotland’s leading charity for young black people, young people of colour and those with intersectional characteristics. We use hip-hop and grime and any sort of youth work as a vehicle to make sure that young people reach a positive destination.
TS: What is HANG and what do you hope to achieve?
SO: HANG is the first conference/network building event to highlight the hip-hop and grime scene in Scotland. We hope to break the barriers of the music industry, which is so monopolised, by allowing organisations led by people of colour, people that are on the ground, to really connect with the scene as a whole and have seats at decision-making tables.
KN: It’s a great thing that HANG’s happening; truly bringing together Scotland’s skilled influencers and networks. It’s fantastic that SAMA [Scottish Alternative Music Awards] has the willingness to connect communities; bringing together those who already benefit from a system that’s designed to serve them and those who are furthest away from a culture and art form that belongs to them. It’s important that HANG have included speakers and panellists like myself and Sami, as engagement must be informed by an understanding of how intersectionality affects everyday life. It’s always #FundingSoWhite and that has to change. It’s time to pass the mic.
SO: [On the Platforms, Promotion and Pitching panel] I’ll be speaking about the importance of a platform to bring exposure, and highlighting all the talent that Scotland is brewing at the moment – providing that bridge for content to be well delivered and really appreciated.
KN: [The Hip-hop and its Multifaceted Role in Communities panel] is a great opportunity for me to present Intercultural Youth Scotland’s practice as we consider the intersecting power structures experienced by young, black, POC artists and adapt accordingly with the avoidance of further exclusion and equity as the main goal. TS: What artists are you the most excited about?
SO: There’s Nova, Bemz, AiiTee, just some of the artists Up2Standard works closely with. India Ros3 representing Dundee… we’re representing Scotland from every corner under one roof.
KN: AiiTee is an absolute star in the making! Please look out for her, she’s a gifted songwriter, singer and musician. She’s also super gorgeous and extremely kind. And, of course, our girl Nova who supported the beginning of IYS in 2018.
TS: What would you say to aspiring youths who want to get involved in the music industry?
SO: I would say do not fear the system. That’s why we are here. You do not need the companies, the monopoly, the ones that are controlling the organisations, [Khaleda and I] are here to do our due diligence to support you. Embrace yourself, embrace your talent. As much as we all come together, we are also individuals, we’ve got our own sound, our own history to bring into this, to add to the table.
KN: What I’d say to aspiring artists is to collaborate, know your community, reach out to other communities and work together. Use your time wisely with people who share the same dedication; learn where the music and cultural art forms started. To truly appreciate something you need to grasp where it all began. Resist the divide and conquer approaches. Let’s not let inequality and lack of opportunity divide us; let’s unite because when you do, you will lead the way and hold the key to influence change in Scotland’s music scene.
HANG’s daytime programme takes place online from 11am8pm, 31 Jul; HANG’s live evening showcase with performances from Nova, Bemz, India Ros3 and mISTAh bOhzE takes place from 8:15-10pm at SWG3, Glasgow, 31 Jul More info can be found at officialsama.com/hang
Sami Omar will feature on the Platforms, Promotion and Pitching panel, online from 3-4pm; Khaleda Noon will feature on the Hip-hop’s Multifaceted Role in Communities panel, online from 5-6pm
instagram.com/up2stndrd interculturalyouthscotland.org
Music Now
From Good Dog’s computer game soundtrack to the new Adam Stafford album via Clair’s kaleidoscopic debut, there are some truly magical releases to get excited about this month
Words: Tallah Brash
July is often one of the quieter times of the year for releases as it’s usually jam-packed with a busy festival calendar, artists more focused on playing live than putting out new tunes in the summer months. But in the absence of festivals, July is perhaps the busiest it’s been in recent years – in Scotland at least. The second Record Store Day drop arrives on 17 July, with the most notable Scottish release coming from Glasgow-based soundsystem collective and dub connoisseurs Mungo’s Hi Fi, whose tentrack album Antidote they describe as “an antidote to all the stress and restrictions of modern life”. Record Store Day aside, Scottish-Sudanese musician Eliza Shaddad releases her latest record The Woman You Want on 16 July. Read our full review overleaf. On 9 July, The View’s Kyle Falconer releases his latest solo record, No Love Songs for Laura. Although we’ve not heard it in full yet, his most recent single – the pop-heavy Wait Around is such an earworm – and its accompanying music video definitely has us unexpectedly warming to his charms. The ever-prolific Adam Stafford returns this month with Trophic Asynchrony, his latest album
Photo: Beth Chalmers on Song, by Toad (9 Jul). Capable of myriad styles, it’s in the looping, building up and unpicking of instrumentation where Stafford really shines, as well as the unique way he manages to use his voice as an instrument. With its title inspired by “our relationship with nature at a time of intersectional crises” and “non-seasonal events due to climate change”, you can almost see the blizzards in summertime and daffodils at Christmas that he longs to depict here. For the most part instrumental, across its eight tracks Trophic Asynchrony is cinematic and wholly engrossing, unfolding meticulously like the best stories captured on screen or in ink; fully invested from start to finish, you just want the best for its protagonist. At points dark, sorrowful and tense while others feel light and hopeful as they twinkle, you won’t want to turn away for a minute lest you miss something; a change in atmosphere, a twist of fate. Glasgow musician and producer Clair also finds inspiration in nature, but on her debut album, Earth Mother, the focus is firmly on its healing power. Set for release on 15 July via her own Hot Gem label, Clair turned to music-making in a much-needed time of catharsis following a difficult period in her life, and, if you let them, listening to the album’s seven tracks could offer the same restorative properties.
Earth Mother is by no means a conventional record, but rather sees Clair bringing together more traditional instrumentation with a collection of unusual found sounds – sex toys, a mini sewing machine, a blow torch and jewellery-making tools all feature alongside an abundance of field recordings – to great effect. Despite the woozy nature of this record, there’s an urgency beneath the surface that helps propel it forward, despite there being no notable beats, rhythms or song structures to cling to. But it’s the buzzing insects, birdsong, wheezy harmonica, cat purrs, the crunching of leaves underfoot, sloshing water and lapping waves that help bring an effervescence to the record as they bob and fizz to the surface like a rejuvenating Berocca in a pint of water the morning after a heavy night.
Clair
Field recordings of birdsong and rivers can also be found on the beautiful Heart-Shaped Scars (30 Jul, SA Recordings), Dot Allison’s first album in 12 years. Recorded at Castlesound Studios in Edinburgh, four of the album’s tracks feature stunning string arrangements by the exceptionally talented Hannah Peel, but it’s Allison’s captivating, vulnerable and featherlight vocals that are knockout here. If you’re looking for a heavy dose of chiptune this month then Good Dog, aka Suse Bear, has you covered with their Journey to the End of the Jelly World soundtrack. Set for release on 2 July via OK Pal records, it accompanies a super cute 8-bit RPG game of the same name, created as a collaboration between Bear and Faith Eliott, and made possible thanks to a commission from the Glad Cafe’s Glad: Online project. Evocative of the journey the game might take you on, its twists and turns can be felt in every synth stab, chord change and ethereal shimmer across the record. Closer Congratulations (Thanks for Helping) is particularly jubilant, making you feel like you’ve won at life before you’ve even played the game. Pure joy. Elsewhere, Glasgow’s wojtek the bear release their latest album, the warming heaven by the backdoor (16 Jul, LNFG); Linzi Clark releases her latest single Balancing Act (2 Jul), featuring more of the gorgeous vocals we’ve come to expect from the Paisley talent; on 9 July, Ayr’s rising star Bemz releases 26, his summer-ready collaboration with Rory James; on 16 July, Goodnight Louisa returns with the super-catchy Get Your Hands Off My Girlfriend, while Katherine Aly unleashes the pulsing and retro-tinged Glow & Ignite. Finally, citing the likes of Slowdive and Joy Division as influences, Fife four-piece Sunstinger release their glorious and full-sounding Beyond the Frame EP (2 Jul).
LUMP Animal Partisan/Chrysalis, 30 Jul rrrrr
Listen to: Bloom At Night, Animal, Paradise It’s a rare privilege to glimpse an artist as if in an alternate universe. What would they make with a different combination of experiences, influences and collaborators? That’s the sense that LUMP evokes. Uniting folk singer-songwriter Laura Marling and producer Mike Lindsay of Tunng, it’s a mad marrying of worlds, a creation that sounds nothing like the sum of its parts. The pair return with Animal, a second record that is wild and visceral as the name suggests. Described as “half cute, half dark and creepy”, the record is a living, breathing paradox, sitting somewhere between robotic and deeply human. Recorded at Lindsay’s home studio, Animal’s soundscape was built around an Eventide H949 Harmonizer, the same pitch-shifter that defined Bowie’s Low. By her own admission, LUMP for Marling is an irresistible escape, “a repository” for ideas that fit nowhere else. Stripped of the poise and narrative of her solo repertoire, Animal’s lyrics flicker easily between playful, grotesque and devastating. From the bombastic earworm title track to the pulsating requiem that is Paradise, to the twisted pop spectacle We Cannot Resist, Animal is utterly intoxicating. [Katie Cutforth] Emma-Jean Thackray Yellow Movementt, 2 Jul rrrrr
Listen to: Say Something, Venus
Darkside Spiral Matador, 23 Jul rrrrr
Listen to: The Limit, I’m the Echo, Only Young Nicolás Jaar refers to Darkside as a “third being” which manifests in the room when the Chilean-American experimental producer hooks up with Dave Harrington to jam. It would take some kind of metaphysical summoning power to execute the unfathomable fusion of Jaar’s gurgling, shimmering electronics and Harrington’s freeform, pretty playing into proggy, funky rock music, as occurred on the duo’s 2013 album Psychic. That was a record armed to the teeth with the element of surprise. Spiral is a more settled affair. Jaar and Harrington lean into rhythm and repetition more here, not willing to pull out the same number of jump scares just for the sake of it. It’s a masterclass in the art of precision and withholding – Inside Is Out There is eight-and-a-half minutes of build before a six-and-a-half minute closer which has plenty of build itself. So when they do flip the switch, the album explodes. Harrington’s Knopfler-esque tone could be described as dependable, but here he takes the starring role. The piercing solo capping off Only Young is blockbuster. Compared to Jaar’s pair of 2020 albums this all seems so conventional. But even that is thrilling when done this well. [Tony Inglis] Eliza Shaddad The Woman You Want Rosemundy Records/ Wow and Flutter, 16 Jul rrrrr
Listen to: Fine & Peachy, Waiting Game, Now You’re Alone Emma-Jean Thackray is a woman on a mission. The diverse UK jazz composer, producer, performer and DJ refuses to be confined to one creative box and recently signed to Warner Chappell, who described Thackray as a “prodigy” in the jazz scene. Her 2020 standout single Movementt may not feature on her debut full-length, but its dancefloorangled take on jazz provides the perfect gateway to the spiritual depths that Yellow swims in with love and curiosity. At Yellow’s core is a celebration of human experience. ‘Brighter days are coming’ is the mantra on Sun that resonates with our joint necessity for togetherness given the pandemic, while the spoken-word passage of listening, knowing and loving cuts through with candour in album opener Mercury. Among its transcendental messages though lies the album’s core qualities: its musical compositions. Brass and strings, choral segments and ecstatic chants meld together joyously with elements of 70s jazz fusion, psychedelia, P-Funk and Alice Coltrane-esque spirituality.
Yellow brims with kindness and connection through its musical messages, reminding us refreshingly of what it is to be a human among humans. [Jamie Wilde]
For someone who can list ‘multi-linguist’, ‘philosophy degree’, and ‘female-led arts collective founder’ on their CV, it’s surprising to hear that Eliza Shaddad is still wrestling with the idea of being a better human. But latest release The Woman You Want is the product of a year’s work of reflection for the Sudanese-Scottish artist, now based in the warmer climes of Cornwall. Like lead single Blossom’s botanical nod, the record has gnarly roots that dig into thoughts of fatigue, identity, and insecurity. The recent grief of losing her grandmother permeates In the Morning (Grandmother Song) as she pushes against the protocols, dryly admitting to losing her affection for flowers. The tenderness continues in Now You’re Alone, a bold penultimate track channeling Natasha Khan’s command for a spacious and roving orchestral line. But it’s Fine & Peachy where we find Shaddad back in her indie bedrock with a sucker punch opener, as if snatched from nineties-era Juliana Hatfield herself, as she scathingly jibes: ‘Fuck you, just tell me what you want me to say / Instead of screwing with my head for days’. Refreshing real-talk and righteous songwriting, The Woman You Want is all the better for it. [Cheri Amour]
Laura Mvula Pink Noise Atlantic Records, 2 Jul rrrrr
Listen to: Church Girl, Pink Noise, Got Me Pink Noise sees Laura Mvula return with her first new music in five years and, on it, she’s gone full 80s. The album is Mvula’s first release on Atlantic Records and her first since being dropped by her previous label, Sony, via an extremely impersonal email in 2017. With this in mind, Pink Noise could well be described as a redemption record and Mvula spares few punches. Church Girl is about as Whitney a single can come without being an actual Whitney single, with its synth patterns more than a little reminiscent of I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me). Simon Neil of Biffy Clyro makes a bizarre and unexpected cameo on the album’s one outright ballad, What Matters. Mvula’s unique vocal range is the album’s shining star, though, and her voice soars over tracks like Safe Passage, Pink Noise and Got Me.
Pink Noise is a John Hughes soundtrack just waiting for its film to be written and it’s a bold return from an artist with a point to prove. Describing it as the album she’s always wanted to make, it’s no wonder Mvula sounds so comfortable. [Nadia Younes] Half Waif Mythopoetics ANTI-, 9 Jul rrrrr
Listen to: Fortress, Swimmer, Party’s Over Mythopoetics recognises the inevitability of the “pandemic record” tag and leans into it. Hard. The first line sets out the stall for the emotional exploration and topical ennui that are to follow: ‘Have I forgotten how to be alone? / I blame you’. Despite the increased studio tinkering, the arrangements here are mostly sparser than previous albums, foregrounding Nandi Rose Plunkett’s undulating vocals with martial, almost industrial percussion or cascading piano balladry. Swimmer and Midnight Asks are most reminiscent of typical synth-pop fare, but it’s the skittery electro experimentation of Fortress and the cut-up samples of Party’s Over that really elevate the material. The lyricism is another big draw here, with big, capital-F Feelings on full display. Themes of loneliness, confidence, and dealing with death/trauma abound and work best when simply presented. Horse Racing runs a heavy-handed metaphor into the ground and it would take some sort of musical demigod to pull off a line about tasting ‘loneliness in the crust of every loaf’ on a song called Sourdough. But overall there’s a great deal to love on this album, whether you’re hiding from the world or belting out some catharsis at your next (sociallydistanced) garden party. [Lewis Wade]
Foodman Yasuragi Land Hyperdub, 9 Jul rrrrr
Listen to: Hoshikuzu Tenboudai, Numachi, Gallery Cafe After years honing his trademark glitched-out warpings of the rhythms of footwork, rather than jabbing as his older work was wont to do, there’s a softer more enveloping glow to the arrangements on Yasuragi Land, Foodman’s bow on Hyperdub. Hoshikuzu Tenboudai, with its chaotic marimba lines and bursts of samples mangled beyond any recognition, should be all knees and elbows but somehow comes together into something oddly sleek and welcoming. Yasuragi similarly manages to ping all over the place, but the sense of playful hodgepodge in the various tones mean it’s always inviting rather than jolting. Across the record there’s enough experimentation with form to fend off any sense of repetition. Numachi’s sinister, almost seasick lurch works to remarkable effect, and when samples are allowed to run they’re spectacular. That said, it’s one of these stylistic diversions that is perhaps the album’s weakest moment, Ari Ari’s more familiar house rhythm seeming a touch inert compared to the freeform beauty of the rest of the record. Other than that, Yasuragi Land is an assured debut, aware of its own strengths, allowing intricate programming and arrangement to never feel forced and managing that trickiest task of evoking nostalgia without slipping into being cloying. [Joe Creely] Wavves Hideaway Fat Possum Records, 16 Jul rrrrr
Listen to: Help is on the Way, Thru Hell, Hideaway As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. On their seventh studio album, Nathan Williams and the Wavves gang certainly aren’t looking to complicate things. In fact, Hideaway ultimately goes back to basics in many ways, with Williams recording it in a shed in the backyard of his parental home, and releasing on Fat Possum Records, the home of a couple of the band’s early releases. As such, their much-loved SoCal surf/indie-punk rock sound serves more like the record’s breadand-butter than the building blocks for anything more overly adventurous. Sure, it’s a tried and tested approach, but nothing feels uninteresting nor unimaginative as a result. The backyard-borne, rough‘n’ready, raw production is front and centre throughout, with Thru Hell and the title track notably testing the limits of Williams’ unpolished vocals. The resulting ‘punkness’ of the album is thus particularly significant and tastes like a bitter twist of lemon to the clean, crisp Beach Boys inspiration found across its nine melodically sweet singalong choruses. Wavves are no stranger to this smooth-to-rugged combination, and on Hideaway, the mix feels like a familiar cocktail recipe that mostly hits all the right notes. [Dylan Tuck]
Another Round Director: Thomas Vinterberg Starring: Mads Mikkelsen rrrrr
Simply existing as an adult in the modern world is an emotional, psychological and logistical ordeal. Relationships must be maintained, homes cleaned, meals prepared and the grind of work endlessly pursued. When Martin (Mikkelsen) and his three friends – all teachers – find themselves in this existential lethargy, they embark on a quasi-scientific experiment: exorcising their middle-aged malaise through a sustained blood alcohol content of 0.05%. This provocative premise could so easily slip into machismo or moralisation, but Another Round is too sympathetic a film for such recourses, fuelled not by sensationalist voyeurism but a curiosity for the ways in which joy can be recognised and embraced. Writer-director Thomas Vinterberg’s approach is markedly intimate, the affection between the men afforded rare depth through an emotionally astute script and performances made all the more dynamic for their understated, worn-in presence. It is an incisive psychological portrait that plays beautifully alongside the heady sensuality of their unconventional self-care: the crisp crackle of a vodka bottle’s seal breaking, the velvety glug of blood-red wine in a fine-spun glass. There are no ironic digs at mid-life crises in Another Round, only compassion and warm moments of humour. Through this perfectly balanced tone, Vinterberg lays the groundwork for an evocative study of everyday life: a little mundane, a little devastating, and with infinite potential for beauty. [Anahit Behrooz]
Released 2 Jul by StudioCanal; certificate 12A
Limbo Director: Ben Sharrock Starring: Amir El-Masry, Vikash Bhai rrrrr
Limbo explores the experience of refugees living in Scotland, but leave any preconceptions you might have at the door. Director Ben Sharrock avoids the usual miserablism associated with cinema of these shores, mining instead a more drolly comic register as he follows the lives of several migrants waiting indefinitely for their asylum claims to be processed on an unnamed island. Their new home’s dour weather and even dourer inhabitants suggest purgatory as much as limbo, with lonely phone boxes, deserted playgrounds and eerily-lit bus stops the only shelter from frosty winds. Forbidden from working and given barely enough to live on, the refugees – all “low priority” single men – kill time watching Friends boxsets between attending patronising cultural awareness classes that leave them feeling even more adrift.
Limbo is at its most poignant when focused on Omar (El-Masry), a celebrated Syrian musician who’s carrying a lot of baggage. We’re not just talking about his instrument of choice, the oud, which is a constant by his side even though he doesn’t have the spirit to play it. So much of the film plays out on his handsome, hangdog face, with Sharrock prone to gently turning his usually static camera off into space when the pathos gets too much to bear. Sharrock’s visual sensibility recalls the fastidious fairy tales of Aki Kaurismäki as well as the more symbolic, spiritual filmmaking of Iran. Flecks of hope break through the darkness, as do absurdist sight gags, but that doesn’t dampen Limbo’s emotional power or political substance. [Jamie Dunn]
Released 30 Jul by MUBI; certificate 12A
Another Round Jumbo Limbo The Sparks Brothers
Jumbo Director: Zoé Wittock Starring: Noémie Merlant rrrrr
When Jumbo is inevitably brought up in conversation, it is likely to receive a few awkward laughs, a few scrunched noses, and perhaps even a few sounds of mistaken disgust. The film follows Jeanne (Merlant) as she spends her summer working at a theme park where she falls in love with its newest attraction. It would be easy to – consciously or unconsciously – place a seedy lens upon this girl, portraying her as some kind of sexual aberration. But first-time feature director Zoé Wittock refuses this, opting instead for a tender look at love, desire and understanding. It’s Wittock’s attention to Jeanne’s love for the eponymous carnival ride, and Jumbo’s subsequent response, that makes the film so deeply sensory and palpable. Multicoloured lights across faces, the rush of wind upon a theme park ride – it’s there to be felt and to be felt fully, by audiences as much as Jeanne herself. But Jumbo isn’t overly fantastical either: Jeanne’s touching yet fraught relationship with her mother, Margarette (Emmanuelle Bercot), feels truly authentic, although perhaps overly predictable. But, ultimately, the complexities of the situation are not forgotten and Margarette’s character is never sacrificed for narrative ease. And yet, for a film so wrapped up in feeling, Jumbo certainly has high stakes driving its narrative. It raises big questions about our relationships with objects, all while strapping us in for a fun ride. By the end, Jumbo has successfully pulled at some cliched romantic heartstrings, a feat that only adds to the film’s peculiar joy. [Eilidh Akilade] The Sparks Brothers Director: Edgar Wright Starring: Ron Mael, Russell Mael rrrrr
Sparks are a band best known for their operatic glam rock earworms of the mid-70s, but whose storied career has seen brothers Ron and Russell Mael withstand shifting cultural forces to varying degrees of critical and commercial success. In his exhaustive documentary, Edgar Wright seeks to examine the duo’s staying power, influence and undimmed creative instincts, yet ultimately succumbs to the enormity of this task. In presenting a linear history of the group, The Sparks Brothers amounts to little more than a screen adaptation of their Wikipedia page. Perhaps Wright was just too much of a fan to make the brutal edits needed to create a satisfying narrative structure, or to hold his subjects up to anything approaching scrutiny. Over 80 talking heads are at pains to stress Sparks’ genius but can only muster bland cliches about staying true to oneself. It’s surprising that a work as detailed as this – each of Sparks’ 25 albums are covered, even the rightfully neglected duds – should be so lacking in curiosity. Where the movie shines is in its extensive use of archive footage, the Maels’ charisma and eccentricity standing out against the showbiz world in which they’ve gained an unlikely foothold. If you’re a fan of the group, this is your chance to watch some of your favourite YouTube clips on the big screen, while newcomers will feel like they’ve stumbled on a goldmine. Ultimately Sparks’ work speaks for itself and proves far more articulate than those attempting to tell the band’s story. [Lewis Porteous]
Coming to a Head
Activists working in hospitality, craft brewing and union organising give their thoughts on beer’s sexual harassment problem, and how to tackle it
Words: Briony Pickford Illustrations: Connie Noble
Content warning: this article includes discussions of sexual harassment and assault
The craft beer industry has recently been the focus of a #MeToo resurgence with many stories of sexual assault, sexism and gender-based violence being shared on social media. Women and LGBTQ+ people working in hospitality have been spat and shouted at; flashed or physically and sexually assaulted on shift; and threatened with rape if they walk home alone. A recent survey conducted by Women On Tap, who campaign for beer equality, showed that 73% of women have experienced sexual harassment while working in a pub/bar while 75% of people said that the harasser was almost always male. Yet the culprits are not only customers but colleagues and managers, and claims have been levelled against many craft brewery workers in Scotland. Charlotte Cook is now Head Brewer at Coalition Brewery in south London, but she started her career as an assistant brewer at BrewDog aged 22, and the only female member of her team. Cook is now a signatory on the recently published open letter to BrewDog which alleged a working environment rife with inequality, bullying and unsafe working conditions, and has been signed by 300 ex-employees of the Scottish craft beer behemoth. Back in 2013, the comment “Have her drink it naked” was left alongside a picture of Charlotte on BrewDog’s Facebook page, so she asked for it to be removed. Brewdog’s HR and social media teams both refused. Eight years later, and only following a recent BBC Woman’s Hour interview where Cook retold the story on-air, the comment has finally been taken down. In the grand scheme of things, Cook does not consider this matter a huge issue but identifies it as evidence that the culture of misogyny she knew well is still embedded within BrewDog. “People need to take it with the gravity that it actually deserves rather than just saying ‘this is how it is’.
We also need more education on how to deal with [sexual harassment], how to de-escalate a situation and how to support someone who has been a victim of it.” The open letter to BrewDog was inspired by the work of Siobhan Buchanan, a brewery worker and beer writer who has been publishing anonymised stories of sexism and sexual assault in the hospitality industry to her Instagram stories. According to Buchanan, many sites claim that they are too small to have adequate HR departments or policies to deal with these sorts of claims, which explains why they are not reported and dealt with, but Buchanan suggests that attitude is as much of an issue as resources. “I think a lot of breweries and small businesses, craft beer bars etc, don’t have to do it so they don’t,” Buchanan says. “They think, ‘we don’t have to bring in someone to do diversity and equality training because we know we’re all progressive feminists.’ But in actual fact, just because you think you are progressive and a good person doesn’t mean you’re not going to miss instances [of sexual harassment] when they happen.” Buchanan’s own experience was refuted by a female colleague when she reported it and this is something that she has found to not be uncommon. She says: “I think that we not only have to raise awareness of the actions of predatory men and how uncomfortable they can make us feel. We have to raise the issue that there is so much internalised misogyny in women that they just let this behaviour slide and then men think it’s okay to behave like this because they are not getting shut down.” More evidence of the difficulties faced by women in beer comes from the hospitality branch of trade union Unite. Their recent survey of hospitality staff found that 88% of those surveyed feel that their employer does not have sufficient training/protection to prevent or mitigate genderbased violence or harassment. Caitlin Lee, Chair of Unite Hospitality in Glasgow, says: “I think the culture of misogyny and sexism and lack of respect for the industry are things that create a really toxic, unsafe environment for workers. Customers often ask ‘what else do you do, or are you just a waitress?’ If you don’t respect someone’s job then you’re not going to respect someone’s safety.” Lee is a strong advocate for Real Living Wage, paid transport home and proactive sexual harassment policies, and these all likely form part of the solution to the sexual harassment epidemic, but Lee also suggests that regulation could help change the environment. “In hospitality, there is no actual body to hold hospitality venues accountable for a lot of situations,” Lee explains. “Scottish alcohol licensing is so rigorous [but] if you look at the licensing it’s all about customers. I think [sexual harassment] should fall within the licensing of the place. If your workers are not safe and they are not treated correctly, then you are not fit to run as a business, therefore your license is revoked.” If you are a hospitality worker facing harassment at work, contact a trade union – Unite, UVW and IWW are all vocal supporters of hospitality staff – and speak out if you can. As Charlotte Cook puts it: “There needs to be awareness from the wider community that this still happens and it happens all the time.” The key is to keep talking, and keep trying.
Daytrippers!
Local Heroes curator Stacey Hunter introduces their latest design project – a collaboration with V&A Dundee that celebrates ‘the year of the daytripper’ with limited edition souvenirs and a bespoke mobile exhibition at V&A Dundee’s plaza
Photo: Gabriela Silveira
This summer we are back with a very special project that celebrates contemporary Scottish design. Eight designers in total have participated in Daytrippers – a collaboration between V&A Dundee and Local Heroes aimed at supporting designers by commissioning collectable, limited edition souvenirs. Identifying 2021 as ‘the year of the daytripper’, I invited emerging designers who embody Scotland’s dynamic design scene to create products that can help to make your window boxes into a mini-paradise for local wildlife; or are perfect for a trip to the beach and a picnic in the park. Furniture designer Aymeric Renoud of Draff has worked with designer Martin Baillie to design two roaming exhibition bikes where you can purchase your souvenirs from friendly and wellversed V&A Dundee staff. Renoud and Baillie have adapted two iconic and award-winning Christiania cargo bikes from Copenhagen which will display billowing beach towels and bespoke boxes of wildflower seeds. These will be unveiled on 8 July when Daytrippers opens to the public and the bikes will be traversing the V&A Dundee plaza until the end of September. Kate Scarlet Harvey, Lauren Morsley and Katie Smith have each designed a bold and beautiful beach towel that will add a distinctive edge to your beach or poolside presence. Made from 100% cotton terry they are jacquard woven, meaning you can enjoy the reverse of your towel just as much as the front. Titled Whizzing About, Daydreamers and The Swimmers, each design brings to mind hot summer days, conviviality and the heady scents of suntan lotion, the seaside and summer blooms. Fiona Moon, Klara Sormark and Shweta Mistry have designed wildflower seed boxes featuring native flowers that support local wildlife. These bespoke seed mixes have been specially created for Daytrippers by Scotia Seeds who grow native flowers at their farm in nearby Angus. Each is aimed at attracting either Scotland’s tiniest butterflies species; bees or nocturnal pollinators like moths so as well as supporting designers you’re also supporting local wildlife with every purchase. “The plaza surrounding V&A Dundee is one of the city’s newest riverside spaces and we’ve been working in partnership with creatives to envision interesting ways of offering design-led experiences to visitors,” says Christian Moire, Director of Operations, V&A Dundee. “Local Heroes have created a fun, welcoming and beautiful way for people to encounter design in a playful manner that supports our vibrant design community and continues to establish the waterfront as a vital civic space to gather, linger and enjoy.” urban beach (coming soon) and a cycling hub that offers bike hire on a central part of the National Cycle Network all combine to make Dundee’s waterfront a must-see for all kinds of visitors from daytrippers to those making the city their base to explore the wider area.
During lockdown citizens brought their own new ways of using the plaza space to the attention of V&A Dundee. Reflecting our changed relationship with outdoor spaces, it quickly transformed into an activity space for skateboarders, rollerbladers and families on their daily walk – becoming a valued addition to the city centre’s public space provision. Since June, Heather Street Food trucks have been serving bagels, ice creams, draft beer and Prosecco from beautifully designed vintage vehicles, turning the plaza into a chic waterfront hotspot. Meanwhile the addition of an You can find out more about the designers and purchase your own collectable souvenir online at vam.ac.uk/dundee
Don’t miss the August issue to see and read about the project in more detail
Book Reviews
By Jessica Hopper rrrrr
Originally published in 2015, The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic was an unrivalled masterclass in music journalism. The anthology documents Jessica Hopper’s two-decade career from self-started fanzines fuelled by righteous anger to becoming a heavyweight influence at major publications, pushing the envelope of what music writing could be without sacrificing a shred of integrity. Through career-defining profiles of some of the world’s most prolific artists (Kendrick Lamar, Björk), deeply personal storytelling and dogged interrogation (including seminal essay Emo: Where the Girls Aren’t), Hopper observes and defines music culture through a resolutely feminist lens. Her writing is revelatory, unfaltering and underpinned by an expanse of crossgenre understanding. That’s what makes it believable – only can someone of the culture critique it in the way Hopper does, her ‘inextricable soul entanglement with music’ embedded and evident in every beat. This revised and expanded edition adds several new dimensions. With a foreword by bestselling author and blogger Samantha Irby, the addition of more recent works and a carefully curated reordering, The First Collection... enters the turbulence of 2021 as furiously edifying as ever. It ends on a breathtaking afterword that proves, while this might not actually be the first collection of its type, for a generation of punks and radicals – especially those of marginalised genders fighting for their place in the world – it remains the most essential. [Kristy Diaz]
MCD X FSG Originals, 6 Jul, £12.75 Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead
By Emily Austin rrrrr
Gilda is having a very bad day when Emily Austin’s Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead opens. So anxious is she that she’d rather drive herself to A&E in her broken-down car than ask for help, for fear she might offend or inconvenience strangers going about their day. She is also constantly consumed by intrusive thoughts of how she might die, often lost in deep macabre thinking, and missing out on the world around her. After her car accident, Gilda tries to set her path right by attending a free therapy session, but when a priest mistakes her for someone interviewing to replace the church receptionist, she winds up landing the job. What follows is a heartfelt and comedic story of an atheist lesbian trying to exist in a world destined to end, guided by an innate warmth and kindness that she is oblivious to, simply wanting everyone around her to be happy even if she doesn’t afford herself that very happiness. What makes Austin’s novel stand out is the authenticity and care she employs when depicting Gilda’s struggles. As funny as the novel is, it’s equally dark and intensely harrowing. This debut is profound for its honest portrayal of mental health in a chaotic modern world, giving space for humour and tenderness while reckoning with the absurdity of the human condition. [Andrés Ordorica] Smithers & Wing
By Heather Palmer, illustrated by Kirsty Hunter rrrrr
Flora Smithers and August Wing are partners in life, and in supernatural crime solving. The former is a magician ousted from the old guard, the latter a detective striking out on her own; together, they’re battling those that haunt the streets of Edinburgh. Compact in size yet sprawling in scope, Heather Palmer and Kirsty Hunter follow the story of missing student Catriona Hewitt under mysterious, potentially supernatural circumstances. All the while, they artfully lay the groundwork of a magical realm and thread in the wives’ own complicated and dramatic pasts across times and worlds, and how they’ve come to this moment. They blend genres from crime and supernatural, to shades of explosive action, all while subverting the easy trap tropes that can often diminish such stories. Hunter’s artwork is exquisite, from the details to the colour and the sheer tone set, each atmospheric and enthralling whether a haunting green lull in a corridor to a fiery fight that sees glass shattered. Palmer’s writing is action-packed but authentic, building layers around the core story that make it feel all the richer – pacy, but never rushed. First in the series, it is a slim volume of a graphic novel, but pulls no punches in launching the duo – bold and brilliant. Combining the dual talents of Palmer and Hunter is a masterstroke; Smithers and Wing aren’t the only formidable pair in town. [Heather McDaid] We Need to Talk About Money
By Otegha Uwagba rrrrr
Money plays a dominant role in most people’s lives, yet it’s rarely deemed a subject to be freely talked about. Personal finances are often kept private, or alluded to in vague, bashful asides. In her new book We Need to Talk About Money, Otegha Uwagba smashes that social taboo with a candid account of her life, told through the lens of her own relationship to money. From her earliest concepts of finances growing up to entering (and exiting) the workplace, Uwagba is astonishingly frank about how she has handled everything from navigating Oxford’s social hierarchy to sexist workplaces and the struggle towards home ownership in the wake of both recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. The book isn’t only a critical selfreflection on her own relationship to money, it’s also an examination of the culture that has defined our relationship to it. Discussing issues as diverse as workplace sexism, racism, unpaid labour and the cost of beauty, Uwagba deftly interrogates the societal constructs and complexities of finance. When these essay-based segments feel less grounded in Uwagba’s own experience, they can begin to feel slightly disjointed. Nonetheless, by mostly rooting this commentary in scenes from her own life, Uwagba ensures that We Need to Talk About Money is a relatable, recognisable and brave step towards dismantling the barriers surrounding this often tense subject. [Eugenie Johnson]
Atlantic Books, 8 Jul, £14.99 Independent Publishing Network, 30 Jun, £12 Fourth Estate, 8 Jul, £14.99
ICYMI
Comedian Jen Ives takes on comedy sacred cow Father Ted and its problematic creator
It’s difficult to enjoy anything as a trans woman these days – it seems as if every other week a new national treasure is coming out publicly to denounce pernicious gender ideology. I wouldn’t be surprised if eventually I won’t even be allowed to enjoy my favourite frozen pizza because Dr. Oetker has published an open letter about The Transgender Issue.* As we continue to realise that more and more of our favourite artists are actually flipping jerks, we continue to debate whether or not an artist’s work can be separated from their cack personality. Luckily though, Graham Linehan is a comedy writer and all-round really, really great guy whose postings on trans identity got him kicked off Twitter – so up until now, it’s been pretty easy for me to ignore him. I’ve never really been a fan of his work (and I’m 100% not just saying that out of spite). I’ve seen some of The IT Crowd and it wasn’t really for me (I’m too hot for office work and simply couldn’t relate, sorry). I’m aware that he’s contributed to, and appeared in, some of my favourite programmes over the years (Brass Eye / Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace / I’m Alan Partridge) but I managed to get around his curse by only watching those shows through a series of tilted mirrors. But up until now, I’ve somehow managed to avoid Father Ted. I’m aware of its legacy. People quote it, and talk about it on ‘Top 100 Greatest Shows Of The 90s’. I’ve seen out of context gifs of it, and I remember that advert where the tea lady (biologically born) says “oh, go on, go on, go on…” to sell insurance or something. But the truth is, you can only hide from a cultural phenomenon for so long. People love it, and people (generally) know what they’re talking about. I’m people – I might love it too? Surely, just because I’m a trans woman that shouldn’t exclude me from enjoying a piece of classic, widely adored situational comedy? This would be the ultimate test of my maturity. A true experiment in objectivity. I booted up Channel 4’s badly coded video streaming service, and waited for Series 1, Episode 1, Good Luck, Father Ted to start. Full transparency – I fell asleep. Pretty soon into it, to be honest. Somewhere between Father Jack smashing a TV and Father Ted restraining him against his will into a wheelchair. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to say it was boring or bad (because no doubt his fans will already be coming for me). It was harmless enough. I’m just really tired at the moment, because I’m not sleeping. I’m either worrying about the state of transgender protections, or I’m up most nights until about 4am arguing in the comments of my YouTube videos against people calling me a “man” or a “risk to children”. It’s a lot to take on sometimes, and I’m tired, okay? I don’t have time for old sitcoms. The truth is, it is difficult to enjoy a light-hearted Irish comedy about a group of displaced catholic priests when you
can’t help suspect that the person who wrote it hates you. You can’t help but wonder if he maybe hated you as they filmed it. Or if he’s thinking about how much he maybe hates you right now. Or if, even back then, he took breaks between typing scenes to sit back in his chair, light a cigarette and think “wow, I sure do maybe hate transgender people. Especially Jen Ives, who’s going to write a weird, off-piste article about me in 26 years time.” But most people don’t struggle with that inner conflict. Most people get a warm, fuzzy, nostalgic feeling inside their tummy when they remember “I hear you’re a racist now, Father?” Most people enjoy the endless reruns of his work. I don’t think they associate him as directly with his output as the trans community does – but I’ve recently had both Motherland AND Paddington ruined for me by learning of his involvement (and now, hopefully, I’ve ruined them for you too). Overall, what I managed to stay awake for while watching Father Ted was fine. It’s a daft sitcom about some daft priests written by a daft man – that a lot of people still like. Linehan has certainly done better work in the years following it, such as his seminal sitcom Mrs. Brown’s Boys, which I wish he would make more of.
* I’ve just discovered that the Dr. Oetker’s family had links with the Nazis, so that’s pizza ruined for me as well.
Jen Ives will be performing previews of her stand up comedy hour PEAK TRANS throughout the duration of the Camden Fringe in August – at 2NorthDown
Listings
Looking for something to do? Well you’re in the right place! Here's a rundown of what's on in art galleries across Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee this month.
To find out how to submit listings, head to theskinny.co.uk/listings
Art
Glasgow Art
CCA: Centre for Contemporary Art
TOMOKO KONOIKE: STORIES STITCHED AND SEWN
1-24 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE Collected by Japanese artist Tomoko Konoike from Akita Prefecture, Setouchi, Tasmania and Finland, this series of embroidered placemats are rooted in their makers’ stories, exploring how the personal can be communicated collectively.
David Dale Gallery and Studios
DAN WALWIN: LIKE CLOCK
1-17 JUL, 12:00PM – 6:00PM, TBC Amsterdam artist David Walwin explores embodiment, subjectivity and the relationship between the internal and external in this arresting new show.
GoMA
NEP SIDHU: AN IMMEASURABLE MELODY, MEDICINE FOR A NIGHTMARE
1 JUL-5 SEP, 11:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE Canadian artist Nep Sidhu’s work is embedded in Sikh metaphysics and histories, exploring relationships between memory, memorial and the divine in his very first European show. DRINK IN THE BEAUTY
1 JUL-23 JAN 22, 11:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE Inspired by Rachel Carson’s groundbreaking environmental treatise Silent Spring, this exhibition features artists engaging with our connection to the nonhuman, and thinking through the ethics and aesthetics of how we record nature.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
CAROL RHODES: SEE THE WORLD
1-4 JUL, 11:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE This first posthumous solo exhibition of Glasgowbased artist Carol Rhodes focuses on Rhodes’ rarely exhibited drawings exploring topographic blind spots, peripheries, and ‘non-places’.
FRANCE-LISE MCGURN: ALOUD
1 JUL-1 JUN 22, 11:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE France-Lise McGurn’s newly commissioned installation draws on her personal experiences of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, creating bewitching, almost sculptural forms that fill the museum’s gallery.
Patricia Fleming
TAKO TAAL: HALO NEVUS
1-30 JUL, 11:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE Halo Nevus is a beautifully urgent film whose protagonist is the artist’s birthmark, a striking metaphor that draws from Gambian folklore to explore yearning for home and the shifting tides of civic rupture.
RGI Kelly Gallery
MEGAN SQUIRE, CHARLOTTE ROBERTS & CHARLOTTE HAYES: TALES FROM THE BARROW
1-10 JUL, 10:00AM5:00PM, FREE Tales from the Barrow spotlights work by the three recent GSA graduates who received this year’s prestigious Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts Graduate Prize, bringing together photography, painting, and mixed media work. JUNE CAREY: THE ROB ROY DRAWINGS
24 JUL-14 AUG, TIMES VARY, FREE An exhibition of original pastel drawings by artist June Carey to accompany the new Folio Society edition of Sir Walter Scott’s classic Rob Roy.
Studio Pavilion at House for an Art Lover
IRENE MCCANN: EARLY MORNING SONG
DATES TBC, 11:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE An exhibition of Glasgowbased artist Irene McCann’s dreamy, collage-like still lifes.
The Briggait
JAMES LUMSDEN: SHIFT
7 JUL-16 AUG, TIMES VARY, FREE James Lumsden’s work is primarily concerned with the material process of creation, building translucent glazes of paint to evoke a mesmerising illusion of light and depth.
Tramway
SAMMY BALOJI AND BODYS ISEK KINGELEZ
1-25 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE Bringing together two artists from the Democratic Republic of Congo, this exhibition is a melding of past and future, considering the legacy of colonialism in futurist urban environments.
Edinburgh Art
&Gallery
ELFYN LEWIS: MÔR A MYNYDD
3 JUL-4 AUG, TIMES VARY, FREE Translating to Sea and Mountains, Môr a Mynydd is an evocation of Elfyn Lewis’ native Welsh landscape. Made up of explosive layers and jagged shapes, her paintings bring a rare physicality to the traditional genre.
Arusha Gallery
MORWENNA MORRISON: FIXING EYES WITH THE UNSEEN
1-25 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE Traditional paintings are turned on their head in this subversive, playful show, melding art history with contemporary iconography to explore our complex relationship to individual and collective past.
City Art Centre
CHARLES H. MACKIE: COLOUR AND LIGHT
1 JUL-10 OCT, 10:00AM - 5:00PM, FREE This major retrospective of Scottish painter and printmaker Charles H. Mackie brings together over 50 artworks, exploring his dynamic experimentation with French Symbolism, Japanese art, and the Celtic Revival movement. DONALD SMITH: ISLANDER
1 JUL-26 SEP, 10:00AM - 5:00PM, FREE Donald Smith’s paintings drew on large artistic movements across American and Europe, while remaining dedicated to exploring Lewis’ local fishing communities, his intense, lyrical images celebrating the indomitable human spirit of Scottish island life. IAN HAMILTON FINLAY: MARINE
1 JUL-3 OCT, 10:00AM - 5:00PM, FREE Exploring maritime themes in internationally renowned Scottish artist Ian Hamilton Finlay’s oeuvre, this exhibition pulls work across decades and media, from stone, wood and neon sculptures to tapestry and postcards.
Collective Gallery
CHRISTIAN NEWBY: BOREDOM >MISCHIEF>FANTASY >RADICALISM >FANTASY
1 JUL-29 AUG, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE Featuring a brand new tapestry commission responding to the gallery’s unique astronomical history, this exhibition by Christian Newby explores how textile making straddles both art and craft, interrogating ideas of labour and materiality. BECKY ŠIK: MERCURY
1-11 JUL, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE An immersive installation that brings together experimental film, sculpture, and photography, this hypnotic work explores the intangible and ethereal, the parts of the world that lie beyond human perception and comprehension.
Dovecot Studios
ARCHIE BRENNAN: TAPESTRY GOES POP!
1 JUL-30 AUG, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £8.50 - £9.50 Centring on pop artist, weaver, and former Mr Scotland Archie Brennan, this exhibition shines a light on one of Scotland’s most neglected contemporary artists, bringing decades of vibrant tapestry to the fore. JOCK MCFADYEN: LOST BOAT PARTY
1 JUL-25 SEP, TIMES VARY, FREE Celebrating Jock McFadyen’s 70th birthday, Lost Boat Party is an enigmatic, almost print-like exploration of the magnificence of Scotland’s landscape, juxtaposed and complemented by the artist’s signature urban dystopia.
Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop
TIMOTHEA ARMOUR: THIS IS MOTH DEATH
1-10 JUL, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE This subversive, unique sound work takes the form of a radio drama set in a pub, featuring overheard snatches of a conversation between band members who all happen to be bats, dramatising ideas of ecological and creative survival.
Embassy Gallery
WELCOME TO BABEWORLD
9 JUL-8 AUG, 12:00PM – 6:00PM, FREE An unabashedly pink, unabashedly garish exhibition, Welcome to Babeworld is a collaborative effort led by artist Ashleigh Williams that explores the precarity of sex work, and the dystopian realities that may already exist.
Ingleby Gallery
JONATHAN OWEN
1-17 JUL, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE Jonathan Owen’s sculpting take pre-existing classical busts and statues and subverts them to radical, striking ends, carving away and adding new marble to examine ideas of destruction and recreation. FRANK WALTER (19262009): MUSIC OF THE SPHERES
29 JUL-25 SEP, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE Overlooked during his lifetime but now considered one of the most important Caribbean artistic voices of the twentieth century, Frank Walter is known for his spools: striking circular paintings brought together in this unique, long-awaited exhibition.
Jupiter Artland
RACHEL MACLEAN: SOLO EXHIBITION
1-18 JUL, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £0 - £9 Alongside brand new commission upside mimi ᴉɯᴉɯ uʍop, this expansive exhibition draws from work previously shown at the Venice Biennale and across Scotland, showcasing Rachel MacLean’s darkly comic, audaciously imaginative oeuvre.
Open Eye Gallery
RACHEL ROSS: PERFECT SETTING
1-24 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE Exploring the stories, memories, and haunted pasts held in personal objects - letters, ribbons, notebooks - Rachel Ross’ work is a tender, considered study of how materiality shapes our everyday lives. GILL TYSON: THE ABSENCE OF ALTERNATIVES
1-24 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE Edinburgh College of Art graduate Gill Tyson’s practice is rooted in depicting remote landscapes, using muted lithography to convey the abstracted yet tangible presence of the nonhuman world.
Out of the Blue Drill Hall
JEANNE BLISSETT ROBERTSON AND DAVID GRAY: OFFKILTER
16-29 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE Showcasing work made by Jeanne Blissett Robertson and David Gray during a recent residency at Edinburgh Ceramics Workshop, this exhibition explores how ceramics can create structural forms that emulate the natural world.
Royal Scottish Academy RSA
INTERIOR LANDSCAPES
1-25 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE Highlighting the relationship between ideas, materials, and manufacture, this exhibition explores the intricacies of domestic artefacts and furniture, with pieces designed by Royal Scottish Academicians and invited artists. FRANCIS CONVERY RSA: HINDSIGHT
1-25 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE Characterised by a colourist sensibility and shifting forms, Aberdeenshirebased artist Francis Convery’s paintings are simultaneously enchanting and challenging, melding colours and shapes in a new and intoxicating way.
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
RAY HARRYHAUSEN: TITAN OF CINEMA
1 JUL-20 FEB 22, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £5 - £14 This once-in-a-lifetime exhibition brings together the life work of a giant of cinematic history and the grandfather of modern special effects, showcasing some of his most iconic designs and achievements. ISAAC JULIEN: LESSONS OF THE HOUR
29 JUL-10 OCT, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE In partnership with Edinburgh Art Festival, this major ten-screen film installation from renowned British artist Isaac Julien offers a poetic mediation on the life and work of nineteenth-century African-American writer and abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
Scottish National Portrait Gallery
RUINED: REINVENTING SCOTTISH HISTORY
1 JUL-13 NOV, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE Four young Scots reinvent the bloody complexity of Scottish history, drawing on and subverting works from the National Portrait Gallery to pull visitors into an immersive, disorienting, and radical reimagination of our collective past. ALISON WATT: A PORTRAIT WITHOUT LIKENESS
17 JUL-8 JAN 22, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE A body of new work created in response to celebrated eighteenth-century portraitist Allan Ramsay, Alison Watt’s paintings play with detail and ideas of femininity, exploring the art of portraiture beyond the subject. THOMAS JOSHUA COOPER: THE WORLD’S EDGE
31 JUL-22 JAN 22, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE The only artist to have ever taken photographs of the two poles, Thomas Joshua Cooper is known for working in the extremes, pushing the boundaries of both creative practice and human endurance.
Stills
MOVE
1-10 JUL, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE This collaboration between Works 4 Women and Stills, Move examines how gendered power dynamics play out both in private and public through a shared photographic journey created by women from Syria, Poland, Nigeria, and elsewhere. SEKAI MACHACHE: PROJECTS 20
29 JUL-18 SEP, 12:00PM – 5:00PM, FREE Featuring work from Sekai Machache’s The Divine Sky, these porcelain-like photographs were created during the pandemic, exploring new ways of structuring artistic output, inscribing and re-inscribing images and mediums.
Summerhall
BEVERLEY HOOD: WE BEGAN AS PART OF THE BODY
1 JUL-12 SEP, 12:00PM – 5:30PM, FREE This immersive series of video projections, 3D prints, and virtual reality explores existential and ethical questions on the relationship between bodies and technology. Presented as part of this year’s Edinburgh Science Festival.
VICTORIA EVANS: OSCILLATIONS
1 JUL-12 SEP, 12:00PM – 5:30PM, FREE Using soundscapes and sonification of data in a unique, haunting way, Victoria Evans’ work engages with the way invisible forces in the universe tangibly affect our lives. Presented as part of this year’s Edinburgh Science Festival.
Talbot Rice Gallery
THE NORMAL
1 JUL-28 AUG, 10:00AM - 5:00PM, FREE This group exhibition showcases numerous international artists responding to the global event of the pandemic, exploring how we can rethink our relationship to community and the environment, and affirming the urgent need for whole scale change.
The Fruitmarket Gallery
KARLA BLACK: SCULPTURES (2001 – 2021)
7 JUL-24 OCT, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE Combining traditional sculptural material with found objects such as cleaning products and cosmetics, Karla Black’s embodied sculptures fill the walls, ceilings, and floors of Fruitmarket.
The Queen’s Gallery
VICTORIA & ALBERT: OUR LIVES IN WATERCOLOUR
1 JUL-3 OCT, 9:30AM – 5:00PM, £0 - £7.80 Featuring 80 watercolours collected by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, this exhibition is a celebration of Scottish watercolour painting in the post-Romantic, industrial age, a glimpse of the wonders of the Scottish landscape 200 years ago.
The Scottish Gallery
ALEXANDER GOUDIE: AN ARTIST’S LIFE - ACT I
1-24 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE A new exhibition shedding light on one of Glasgow School of Art’s most influential and flamboyant alumni, Alexander Goudie, whose disarming figurative paintings are ripe for rediscovery. LARA SCOULLER: SEA CHANGE
1-24 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE Inspired by the wildness of the Scottish coastline, Lara Scouller’s mono-screen prints bring the landscape to life through flattened, deliberate swatches of colour.
1-24 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE Drawing from ancient Asian ceramic practices, Miyu Kurihari’s work lives up to its exhibition name, bringing to life a menagerie of animals in traditional blue and white porcelain that is both intimate and playful.
ELLA FEARON-LOW, JOANNA MANOUSIS + JESSICA TURRELL: MATERIAL MATTERS
1-24 JUL, TIMES VARY, FREE This exhibition brings together work by three unique jewellers, whose craft incorporates mixed media and non-traditional materials to push the boundaries of materiality in fashion design.
LYNN RODGIE
3-24 JUL, 11:00AM – 5:30PM, FREE Popular Borders-based artist Lynn Rodgie returns to Torrance Gallery for her regular Summer show, exhibiting a gorgeous selection of new oil landscapes and scenes of the city.
Dundee Art
DCA: Dundee Contemporary Arts
EMMA TALBOT: GHOST CALLS
1 JUL-8 AUG, TIMES VARY, FREE This major new exhibition brings together a series of works created specifically for the DCA by renowned British artist Emma Talbot, whose artistic practice spans the breadth of the visual arts, from drawing and painting to animation and modelling.
A LOVE LETTER TO DUNDEE: JOSEPH MCKENZIE PHOTOGRAPHS 19641987
1 JUL-1 MAR 22, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE Turning to black and white photography from the 1960s-1980s, this exhibition charts the changing landscape of Dundee’s waterfront and the evolution of the City’s fortunes and its people.
1 JUL-2 OCT, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE This exhibition looks at the influence the Tay has had on the city of Dundee, and the ways in which its various faces, from early settlement to industrial giant, continue to reinvent its iconic waterfront.
NIGHT FEVER: DESIGNING CLUB CULTURE
1 JUL-9 JAN 22, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £5 - £10 The perfect exhibition in the light of the last year, Night Fever explores the relationship between vibrant global club culture and fashion, architecture, and graphic design, giving an intoxicating glimpse into the art that informs our nights out.
1 JUL-21 NOV, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE Designed to be staged at the Venice Biennale, this exhibition responds to the festival’s theme “How will we live together?” by collaborating with and involving local communities, highlighting and seeking to return to the civic responsibility of design.
Venues
Compiled by Tara Hepburn
A round-up of our new favourite places in Glasgow this month, featuring Akara Bakery, Moskito 2.0, Fearless Space, Unalome and The Beresford Lounge
Photo: Gerardo Jaconelli Image: Courtesy of Fearless Space
Akara Bakery
537 DUKE STREET, G31 1DL Akara Bakery on Dennistoun’s Duke Street is a glassfronted takeaway bakery selling a changing menu of miniature baked goods that are almost Parisian in their delicateness. Vegan options, savoury pastries, donuts, layer cakes – there truly is nothing this place can’t do, and they do it all extremely well. Open until sell-out each day (which can often be very early indeed), it is worth taking the trip to Duke Street to join the excitable queue. Their vanilla, passionfruit and yuzu cheesecake lives long in the memory, as do all of their cheesecakes in fact. With new flavours popping up to try each month, they have truly become the stuff of local legend.
Moskito 2.0
196-200 BATH STREET, G2 4HG
MOSKITOGLASGOW.COM Legendary bar Moskito shut up shop over two years ago, to the shock of many Glasgow drinkers who had come to rely on its laid-back New York-esque brand of basement cool. Moskito offered a cosier alternative on a stretch of Bath Street that was becoming increasingly showy. During its two year hiatus, the place has had a full facelift, and re-emerged as something new – but not so new as to be unrecognisable. OG fans of Moskito can take comfort in the fact that the bar is keeping the same name, and much of the same DNA. The team behind the Moskito rennaissance are keen to retain Moskito’s alternative spirit, with nods to the world of art and fashion, but still sure of its identity as the quirky non-conforming kid brother of Bath Street. And, best of all, they still have great beer on tap at a reasonable price.
Fearless Space
116 SWORD STREET, G31 1SG Fearless Space on Dennistoun’s Sword Street is principally a yoga studio, but also serves as a multi-functional community hub for creatives in Glasgow’s East End. The brainchild of yoga instructor and all-round lovely person Carrie Wilde, who wanted a place to teach yoga classes that could also be used to support local artists and makers who might not have the funds for a spot of their own yet, the space has been used for craft workshops, small gigs, as a barber and a pop-up shop. Carrie plans to create a booking system where local creatives can reserve studio space to rehearse, work on projects or showcase their work. The possibilities really are endless. A great idea that gets to the heart of community and understands that sometimes all people really need is space and time – who knows which East End talents might pass through the doors of Fearless in the near future?
Moskito 2.0
Unalome
36 KELVINGROVE STREET, FINNIESTON, G3 7RZ
UNALOMEBYGC.COM Unalome arrived loudly and proudly, announcing their intention to get the Glasgow culinary scene another Michelin star. The accolade is rare in Glasgow, with Cail Bruich finally securing the city’s only one just earlier this year. But Unalome’s head chef Graeme Cheevers has previous experience in this area, having led the line at both Martin Wishart at Loch Lomond and the Ilse of Eriska Hotel when they won their stars under his leadership. Unalome is his first solo venture – a modern European take on fine dining with a definite nod to Japanese tradition. Located among fine competition in Finnieston, time will tell on the awards front but as far as the food goes, for what it’s worth, it gets five stars from us.
Beresford Lounge
468 SAUCHIEHALL STREET, G2 3LW
BERESFORDLOUNGE.COM The Beresford Lounge has taken over the former home of the Art School Union, in the ground floor of the gorgeous Art Deco Beresford Building on Sauchiehall Street. A massive space, sprawling over three levels, it consists of a bar/restaurant, basement venue and mezzanine level pool hall, which is free to use. The bar also offers an outdoor beer garden, in which you can kick back and enjoy some shisha – a suntrap on those rare sunny days, and electrically heated for the rest of the year. A jam-packed schedule of live music ensures entertainment every night of the week, including open mic and session evenings. Food is served until 9pm every night, there’s a choice of 18 beers on draught, from Tennent’s to Oranjeboom, and cocktails are as cheap as chips. Happy days.
Fearless Space
Image: Courtesy of Beresford Lounge
The Skinny On... Barry Can’t Swim
After racking up plays on BBC Radio 1 and gaining firm fans in Annie Mac and Jaguar, Barry Can’t Swim releases his debut EP, Amor Fati, this month. Before that, we find out about his fear of wrists, his favourite festival memory and more
What’s your favourite place to visit and why? I’m based in London but originally from Edinburgh and I love going back to visit as often as I can. It’s a beaut city. I appreciate it more now that I don’t live there. My favourite place I’ve one-off visited is probably Lebanon – food was quality, really nice people too.
Favourite food to cook in lockdown and why? I was cooking a lot of fish until I saw Seaspiracy and that just ruined it for me. I can never look at a prawn the same way again now. A lot of curries – easy to throw together with what’s in the cupboard.
Favourite colour and why? Purple. No real reason, just a really nice colour. Regal.
Who was your hero growing up? John Lennon / my dad. Lennon because he’s the greatest songwriter in pop music history. My dad cos he’s a class joiner and a really good dad.
Whose work inspires you now? I’m loving Aleksandir – unreal musician. His production is on another level. There’s so much space in all his tunes but it never feels empty. Big fan of Khruangbin too. Still got Skee Mask’s last album on repeat as well.
What three people would you invite to your virtual dinner party and what are you cooking? Marcus Aurelius, John Lennon, then a toss-up between the Buddha or Tim Cahill. Might get a bit too deep and serious having both Marcus and the Buddha so probably Tim Cahill. Meat and two veg. What’s your all time favourite album? Really hard question. I can’t overlook Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not by Arctic Monkeys. That was an absolute gamechanger for me growing up. Astral Weeks and Channel Orange are up there too.
What’s the worst film you’ve ever seen? Meet Joe Black. Don’t listen to people who tell you it’s a classic, nothing even happens.
What book would you take to a seemingly endless period of government-enforced isolation? Meditations by Marcus Aurelius would keep me stoic and sane.
Who’s the worst? The worst? Hmm. Priti Patel has to be up there, right? There’s something uniquely dislikable about someone who wears their ignorance as a badge of honour. James Corden too. He’s just a bit of a knob, isn’t he?
When did you last cry? I cried at Queer Eye the other day. It’s the scenes with Karamo, man; he always gets me. I’m a big crier.
What are you most scared of? Murderers. As stupid as it sounds, I’m not a big fan of wrists either – far too exposed and vulnerable. I don’t like seeing the underside of people’s wrists – all the veins, horrible. When did you last vomit and why? Probably on a night out.
Tell us a secret? Chopper dyes his pubes ginger.
Which celebrity could you take in a fight? Mary Berry.
If you could be reincarnated as an animal, which animal would it be? In an ideal situation, I would like to come back as a monkey. They look like they have a good time. But I took one of those online spirit animal quizzes a few months ago and it said I was a butterfly, which was a bit annoying.
How do you stay inspired by the world when you are isolated from it? I’m not sure really, it’s not something I proactively try to do. I think there’s still a lot that can inspire you at home. As dark as this past year has been it’s definitely given me time to reflect, which has been good. Just trying to find the time to do basic simple things like exercise, eating well, checking in on friends – so, so important.
What’s your favourite festival memory? Sunday at Glasto two years ago was one of the best days of my life. There’s something about the last day at Glasto. It’s just pure escapism. The real world just seems to disappear for 24 hours. I even wrote a tune about it, called Sunday At Glasto.
What’s your worst festival memory? I met a random guy in one of the tents at Houghton a couple years ago who was Ainsley Harriott’s nephew and we tried to call him but he didn’t pick up. That was a pretty bitter sting.
Amor Fati is released on 9 Jul via Shall Not Fade
Barry Can’t Swim plays FLY Open Air, Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, 17-19 Sep
