The Skinny Scotland January 2016

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INDEPENDENT FREE

CULT U R A L

J O U R N A L I S M

January 2016 Scotland Issue 124

Food & Drink Survey 2016 MUSIC Daughter Tortoise Saul Williams Henry Rollins NAKED SOAK ART Exhibitions of 2016 Stephanie Mann Creative Classes for the New Year FILM Adam McKay 21 Films of 2016

The Results: From best beer to your date location of choice, presenting this year's winners BOOKS When Books Become Films 2016 Release Highlights THEATRE Manipulate Festival Spring Programme Preview COMEDY Andy Zaltzman

MUSIC | FILM | CLUBS | THEATRE | TECH | ART | BOOKS | COMEDY | FASHION | TRAVEL | FOOD | DEVIANCE | LISTINGS

P.10 Food & Drink Survey 2016

P.23 21 Films You Must See in 2016, High Rise

P.33 New Travel Resolutions

P.24 Saul Williams

January 2016 I N DEPEN DENT

CULTU R AL

JOU R NALI S M

Issue 124, January 2016 © 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.

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

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printed on 100% recycled paper

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Contents



Editorial Editor-in-Chief Music & Deputy Editor Editorial Assistant Art Editor Books Editor Clubs Editor Comedy Editor Deviance Editor Events Editor Fashion Editor Film & DVD Editor Food Editor Games Editor Tech Editor Theatre Editor Travel Editor

Rosamund West Dave Kerr Will Fitzpatrick Adam Benmakhlouf Alan Bett Ronan Martin Ben Venables Kate Pasola Anna Docherty Alexandra Fiddes Jamie Dunn Peter Simpson Darren Carle John Donaghy Emma Ainley-Walker Paul Mitchell

Production Production Manager Lead Designer

Sarah Donley Sigrid Schmeisser

Sales Commercial Director Nicola Taylor Sales Executives Claire Collins

Nicky Carter

George Sully

General Manager Kyla Hall Chief Operating Officer Lara Moloney Publisher Sophie Kyle

THE SKINNY

Contents Chat & Opinion: Welcome to the maga06 zine; What Are You Having For Lunch?

Shot of the Month and more freakily accurate foresight from Crystal Baws.

Heads Up: Still recovering from 08

Christmas? Sorry, there’s no time for that now. Especially not with all this lovely culture happening: check our carefully-compiled events calendar.

FOOD AND DRINK SURVEY

10 You came, you saw, you cast your votes…

Now it’s time to announce the results of The Skinny Food and Drink Survey 2016. The winners will be carried on our shoulders in glorious triumph! The losers will be mocked in the stacks! Only kidding: there are no losers here, and anyway, we’re not that good at lifting things.

FEATURES

19 Bit of artful melancholia to kick off the

new year? Why not: Daughter’s Elena Tonra tells us why their search for truth found better results once they left the tour bus.

20 From Glasgow International to British Art Show 8 and beyond, we take a look at the upcoming highlights in this comprehensive guide to Scottish Contemporary Art in 2016.

22 Derry teenger Bridie Monds-Watson – aka SOAK – checks in from touring in Hong Kong to talk about going global, and her obsession with Moleskin diaries.

23 Look, we understand. The Force Awakens is still occupying our every waking thought too. Still, there’s a wealth of Films You Must See in 2016 – let us talk you through them.

fire24 Slam poet and eternal political his first brand Saul Williams discusses record in four years, MartyrLoserKing.

25 As Tortoise emerge from a lengthy

hibernation, John McEntire muses on engaging with the real world through new record The Catastrophist.

27 Puppet performance event Manipulate

returns to Edinburgh this month – we speak to three acts pulling the strings at the festival for the first time.

28 With new novels on the way from Irvine

Welsh and James Kelman, our Books team take a glance at the year ahead and give you their tips for Scotland’s Books of 2016.

New year, new you. Our guide to the classes that are going to make you more interesting in 2016.

29 Classic books rarely fare so well once

they hit the silver screen. Or do they?

We consider the various fortunes of literary adaptations.

January 2016

LIFESTYLE

30 Showcase: Ahead of her forthcoming

exhibition at Glasgow Sculpture Studios (The transparent tortoise shell and the un-ripe umbrella), check out the work of Stephanie Mann.

32 Deviance: You’d never catch The Skinny

using the #eatclean tag unquestioningly.

We look at the troubling side of the Instagram trend.

33 Travel: “Become a more rounded human being” – just one easily achievable goal on our writer’s list of travel-related new year’s resolutions…

REVIEW

35 Music: LuckyMe newcomers Naked bare

all; Blanck Mass comes to Glasgow; plus new records from Emma Pollock, MONEY and Hinds.

41 Art: A look across the month’s Scottish

art calendar; meanwhile our Art team review Delaying Tactics and Christopher MacInnes.

43 Clubs: January’s always quiet, right? Not if you heed our advice and head in the direction of our clubbing highlights for the month.

44 Film: Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s The Assassin goes under our critical microscope;

45 Adam McKay gets serious with The Big

Short; and yer must-attend film events for January.

DVDs: Diablo Cody writes Meryl Streep’s funnest lead turn in years in Ricki and the Flash alongside a classic, noir-tinged western in the form of Day of the Outlaw.

46 Theatre: We stroke our chins knowledge-

ably before giving you the lowdown on Snow White and Tracks of the Winter Bear.

47 Books: Ali Eskandrian’s Golden Years and Lina Wolff ’s commendably-titled Bret Easton Ellis and the Other Dogs give our reviewers cause for consideration.

48 Competitions: Look at all this lovely

stuff you could win: brewery tours, gig tickets, a night at a film festival… Don’t say we don’t give you nuffink.

49 Comedy: Renowned comedian and

presenter of The Bugle podcast Andy Zaltzman on which sport he likes to bring up during sets in Scotland.

50 Listings: Dry January is all very well,

but it’s no excuse to avoid Doing Stuff.

Luckily, we’ve listed All The Stuff in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow this month. Aren’t we helpful?

55 The Last Word: Punk rock iconoclast

Henry Rollins on his retirement from music, his first starring film role and the enduring allure of the stage.

Contents

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Editorial

appy New Year! I hope we all had a lovely Christmas and New Year, and are now refreshed and ready to face 2016 head-on. There’s certainly a lot to look forward to in the coming months, culture-wise. To mark the occasion, our section eds have put their heads together to provide you with all their collective knowledge on the expected highlights of the year ahead.

First up, it’s now one of our own annual highlights – the Food and Drink Survey. You’ve all been rigorously polled to find out where’s best for eating and drinking this year, and we’ve assembled the results into this handy eight-page guide. We’ve been doing this every January for the last five years, and over that time we’ve learned a few things about what you all like in the way of venues. There are some regular favourite beers and restaurants that make the list every year, but that doesn’t make you averse to trying new things. And you lot still bloody love a burrito.

Following the Food Survey, we’ve provided you with a snapshot of the cultural highlights of the coming year. Our Art editor has pored over the forward programmes of galleries in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee to work out what he’s most excited about. The return of the biennial Glasgow International coupled with the British Art Show 8’s arrival in Edinburgh are sure to make this yet another banner year in Scottish visual art.

In Music, we’ve got some exclusive interviews with some of our favourite acts who’re releasing or performing nearby in the near future. Daughter’s Elena Tonra discusses the band’s sophomore album, Not to Disappear; rapper, poet, actor and agitator Saul Williams puzzles over our writer’s name (Finbarr) while discussing his first record in four years; and NAKED tell us about their hotly-anticipated debut, coming out via LuckyMe. Continuing the crystal ball-gazing theme, our Film team have scrutinised the upcoming release calendar to provide you with their expert picks of 2016’s best cinema, from Tarantino’s return with The Hateful Eight to the Coen Brothers’ latest screwball Hail, Caesar!

The Books team have had a look at the publishers’ planning list and compiled a few suggestions of things you might like to read this year, while our Theatre editor shares her thoughts on the spring programmes for Scottish theatre in 2016.

We’ve never been particularly into the idea of ‘new year, new you’ here at The Skinny. New Year’s resolutions usually end in confidence-sapping failure, which is the last thing someone needs in the middle of Scotland’s bleak midwinter. It’s always fun to learn new skills, however. So this year we’re taking a look at a few of the classes available across the central belt, from ceramics for sculpture to learning German.

In Deviance, we take a look at why redefining yourself just because of a calendar change is not only a load of bollocks but also potentially dangerous, as a world of social media one-upmanship leads to get-fit competitiveness and low self-esteem.

Travel has its own take on the beginning of the year destination list, offering up some insights into finding yourself, travelling solo (‘See the great sights of the world while trying not to cry and eat alone in restaurants pretending that you’re waiting for someone’) and volunteering (‘Fail to build a toilet in Malawi because you possess none of the necessary skills. In doing so, rob local workers of an income and deprive a poor village of basic sanitation’). It’s an inspiring read, interspersed with some Singing Kettle references which have left our Northwest office baffled.

Finally, the issue concludes with the wise words of Henry Rollins. Turn to our inside back cover to find out his final thoughts on motivation, performing and spoken word as a vehicle for his ideas.

“I only went on stage to smash it to pieces.” Right enough. [Rosamund West] JANUARY'S COVER ARTIST Mica Warren is an Irish illustrator, born and raised in County Wicklow, now living in Edinburgh with his big brother Ben. cargocollective.com/micawarren

Welcome to the new year. The Festival of Architecture lasts throughout 2016 with over 400 events taking place across the country, part of the Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design. Leading public arts organisation NVA – they of the Speed of Light running round Arthur’s Seat extravaganza – will mark the official launch of the Festival in March by inviting audiences to experience Scotland’s greatest modernist building, St Peter’s Seminary in Cardross, with a night-time public art event exactly 50 years since the iconic building was first opened. There will also be a celebration of LEGO in the National Museum of Scotland. Find out more at visitscotland.com/IAD2016 The 2016 Glasgow International Comedy Festival programme is set to be released on 13 January. Taking place from 10-27 March in venues across Glasgow, Scotland’s spring comedy fest

is already known to contain shows from Frankie Boyle, Dylan Moran and Doug Segal. Head to our news section at theskinny.co.uk/news for our first report on the announcement.

Look out for news in our next issue about this year's XpoNorth. Scotland's annual creative industries festival takes place in Inverness on 8 & 9 June and if you're serious about forging a career in screen, broadcast, gaming, fashion, craft, writing, publishing or music, then XpoNorth is THE place to be. There will be news about how to register for this free conference as well as information on how to get your music, film, designs or writing seen by all the right industry people at XpoNorth's influential showcase sessions. Put the dates in your diary and make sure you stay tuned to The Skinny for all the XpoNorth news. xponorth.co.uk

Illustration: Mica Warren

H

Spot the Difference TWO HOT DOGS In celebration of our Food and Drink Survey 2016, a pair of hotdogs. Don't they look delicious? If you look closely enough, though, you might be able to discern a subtle but crucial difference between these two snacks. But what is it?

If you think you know, head along to theskinny.co.uk/competitions for a chance to win your very own copy of Gun Baby Gun by Iain Overton, courtesy of our dear pals at Canongate.

Competition closes midnight Sun 31 Jan. 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 Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms-and-conditions

February Issue Out 2 Feb jockmooney.co.uk

It’s our Travel special! Dream away all that dreary February-ness with our calendar of the best international cultural events of 2016, insider’s guides to Madrid, Kuala Lumpur and Manila, and loads more. Pass us the cocktail umbrellas. Plus: interviews with supergroup The Nevermen (made up of TV on the Radio’s Tunde Abimpe, Mike Patton and Doseone) and Savages.

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Chat

Kuala Lumpur

THE SKINNY

Crystal Baws With Mystic Mark

ARIES For weeks you’ve complained to your partner of feelings of love, involuntary singing, clapping and speaking in tongues.

In your hysteria you even begin praising imaginary sky beings and develop a feverish terror of a fiery horned beast at the centre of the planet. You are now highly infectious as well, as a host the parasite compels you to seek out noninfected vessels and transmit the disease.

Being diagnosed with a Jesus shouldn’t be taken lightly. The doctor speculates you may have contracted it from a parent or an infected piece of bread. Your only hope is that the white blood cells from your lymphatic system locate the Jesus gestating within and break it down using enzymes before it metastasizes from the heart to the brain.

GEMINI If only there was a protein shake to make your brains bigger.

CANCER Your New Year’s resolution to lose a couple of feet in height has come to a stand-still as you continue to gorge yourself on height-increasing foods such as chicken legs and bean stalks.

LEO Stepping out of confession the moment The Rapture begins, you’re amazed to be amongst The Chosen, lifting majestically into the sky. But old habits die hard and you can’t help but crack one off on your way up to Heaven.

VIRGO You’ve been on the NHS waiting list for a donner to become available for so long, dying of hunger and desperately needing a kebab, feeling so empty and off-colour.

When you’re called, the Turkish specialist matches you up to the correct donner making sure it’s compatible so your body won’t reject it onto the pavement. Clutching your mother’s hand,

TAURUS You lose a lot of respect for God this month when you die and find He lets you into Heaven. Leaves you wondering if he even has a system.

with your father signing the forms for the amount of chilli sauce, you drift off on the Smirnoff Ice I.V. drip. It’s a difficult procedure, carefully inserting the donner into your unconscious mouth, without spilling the attendant salad and sauce down your blue paper gown.

LIBRA Abscesses make the heart grow larger.

SCORPIO This month you make your cat eat a communion wafer by coating it in McCoys Thai Sweet Chicken flavouring, and thus, save her from the eternal damnation of our loving God. SAGITTARIUS Not knowing how to dispose of your old Real Doll, you dump it in the woods only to find later the area is cordoned off after it is found by the walker of a Real Dog. A Real Policeman turns up, his arms moved by his handler, examining the scene, looking for clues with his glass eyes.

CAPRICORN As you climax during lovemaking you whisper gently into your partner’s ear “I’m sperming.”

AQUARIUS Earth is little more than a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam, and God has a dust allergy, forcing Him to avoid us at all costs, reacting violently should we approach.

PISCES It takes more muscles to frown than to smile, which is why your face is a titanic rippling hulk of a face. From modest beginnings you’ve bulked up your once scrawny visage using protein whey and steroids to win over 16 face-building championships. At this month’s final, you constrict your taut, sinewy lips over your teeth until they crack under the explosive hydraulic force of your smile, gurning your veiny, pulsating face for the judges who applaud your oiled mug muscles and stick a ribbon on your enormous twitching cheek. twitter.com/themysticmark facebook.com/themysticmark

Shot Of The Month

Courtney Barnett, O2 ABC Glasgow, 2 December by Derek Robertson

Alex Smoke

Online Only With the Altitude Festival turning 10, co-founder Andrew Maxwell tells us of its secret Edinburgh origins, how the ski-slopes call for the same mindset that's needed onstage, and the kind of audiences that know how to come in from the cold.

Opinion: Life, Death and Videogames. The role of videogames as a tool for coping is not one that’s often considered. Our Games editor looks back on how sombre indie title Limbo helped lay a path through dark times.

We begin a new year with a new author. Helen McClory's otherwordly short fiction recently won the Saltire Society First Book award, and she chats here about how her fiercely original collection On the Edges of Vision came to be born.

From our Northwest edition, this month’s Showcase presents Amy Stevenson, an artist based in Manchester whose practice often attaches itself to ideas of commodity fetishism. Sculptures multiply, often becoming immersive installations where poetic and critical relationships between objects are examined and territories are crossed.

January 2016

A new group show at Liverpool’s FACT explores life lived online, and launched with a headlinestealing appearance from performance art collective LaBeouf, Rönkkö & Turner. Curators Amy Jones and Lesley Taker discuss ideas of identity and celebrity in the digital age.

Young Manchester music talent Howes tells The Skinny about his debut full-length LP, making connections through music and the wily ways of the modular synth.

No stranger to these pages over the years, Glasgow-based producer Alex Smoke discusses the enduring influence of classical music and his evolving relationship with dancefloor sounds on latest record Love Over Will.

Cashmere Queen Rosie Sugden's designs can now be found far beyond their Edinburgh origins – we find out more about a designer with a sharp eye for minutiae.

Fancy some more words of wisdom from Henry Rollins? You’re in luck! Head to the website for an extended version of our Last Word interview. theskinny.co.uk

Opinion

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Everyone knows that the events calendar never sleeps, and so January arrives with a busy ol' schedule that includes annual highlights King Tut's New Year's Revolution, Celtic Connections, Independent Venue Week, and Manipulate, plus lots more besides...

Wed 6 Jan

Mindful that you're all probably still a post-Hogmanay shell of your former selves (i.e hungover/still drunk), we start you off gently with a chilled afternoon archive airing of Sylvian Chomet's 2010 animated Edinburghset gem, The Illusionist – screening as part of the Filmhouse's 'Scotland Galore' series, digging out a selection of stellar Scottish-set films from years gone by. Filmhouse, Edinburgh, 4pm, £7.20 (£5.70)

Radio and podcast creator Richard Melvin takes to Edinburgh's The Stand to host another of his Richard Melvin Presents... live radio recording nights – marking his first outing of 2016 by introducing an allstar cast of comedy stalwarts currently recording radio shows. Even better for your Christmas-ravaged wallet, tickets are free, you just need to register. The Stand, Edinburgh, 8pm, free (but ticketed)

Glasgow's Ro Campbell and The Wee Man return for another bout of their concept comedy showdown, Comedian Rap Battles, where a select batch of Scottish comics will go head-to-head with a selection of UK rap talent, battling it out to the death* in a bid to decide who's got the most swagger when it comes to hippity-hop wit.

P.S – *no one really dies.

Probably. The Stand, Glasgow, 8.30pm, £6 (£4)

The Illusionist

Richard Melvin

The Wee Man

Sun 10 Jan

Mon 11 Jan

Worshipping disco in all its myriad glitterball forms, fledgling disco night We Should Hang Out More takes to its monthly La Cheetah lair to kick off 2016 in style– welcoming one half of the Optimo tag-team, JD Twitch, for a reliably eclectic 'African Disco Special' guest set, helping raise funds and feelgoodvibes for charity.

La Cheetah Club, Glasgow, 11pm, £5

Numbers co-founder Jackmaster takes over the whole of SWG3 for an all-day event celebrating/ commiserating his 30th birthday – or, in his own words "I'm reaching the milestone 30 years of age in January which is fucking pish" – joined by a bounty of live guests, among them Eats Everything, Denis Sulta, Kurupt FM, and Jasper James going headto-head with the birthday boy himself. SWG3, Glasgow, 5pm, from £10

Returning in 2016 for s'more mockery of a shit film of their choosing, Joe Heenan and Billy Kirkwood take to the CCA for another round of their Watch Bad Movies with Great Comedians fun night, this time with a screening of epic failure of a blockbuster (and yes, Sean Connery's last film, for shame), The League of Extraordinary Gentleman, with the chaps providing laugh-along live commentary. CCA, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £6

DJ Twitch

Jackmaster

Sat 16 Jan

Sun 17 Jan

Now that Christmas is over (sob), the Lyceum follows up its festive-tastic production of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe with a retelling of Conor McPherson's moving The Weir – an elegiac tale of a young woman arriving in Dublin with a haunting tale to share, unfolding in the fireside glow of a rural Irish pub where a collection of lonely males gather to unravel their ghosts. Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, Jan-6 Feb, from £10

Following being commissioned to spend time researching The Glasgow School of Art Archives and Collections' WWI holdings during 2015, Glasgow-viaBrooklyn sculptor Rachel Lowther unveils a new body of sculpture and films inspired by her research – in particularly drawning from correspondence records which trace the impact of WWI on GSA. Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, 16 Jan-20 Mar, free

Returning to Celtic Connections for s'more in the way of hazy nu-folk with a warming campfire glow, Hazy Recollections hits up O2 ABC for its hangoversoothing Sunday afternoon residency – kicking off with sets from Maud the Moth (aka singer/songwriter Amaya López-C), Gus Harrower, Something Someone, and TeenCanteen, plus a mystery surprise act. Also on 24 and 31 Jan. O2 ABC, Glasgow, 2.30pm, £12

The Weir

Rachel Lowther, Boy

Credit: Rachel Lowther

Fri 15 Jan

Credit: Jassy Earl

Sat 9 Jan

Maud the Moth

Fri 22 Jan

Tron Theatre plays host to a one-off performance of Gerda Stevenson's crossartform production Drift – originally staged in summer 2015 on several Scottish beaches – now adapted for an indoor performance, telling the story of Shetland crofter Betty Mouat, who in 1886 spent eight days alone and adrift on the North Sea. Part of Celtic Connections. Tron Theate, Glasgow, 8pm, £14

Popular touring exhibition Hello My Name is Paul Smith makes its way to Glasgow's Lighthouse for a three-month stay – offering an insight into designer Paul Smith's creative process past and present, via a replica of his office, a recreation of his design studio, myriad archive garments from past runway shows, and his unique shop designs from around the world. The Lighthouse, Glasgow, 21 Jan-20 Mar, £6 (£4)

Edinburgh comedy club Monkey Barrel celebrates five years of laughs in the intimate 50-seater surrounds of the Beehive Inn's second floor, marking the occassion with a birthday weekend of showcase nights – for which they'll be welcoming guests Jay Lafferty, Gareth Waugh, and Katherine Ferns, plus founders Ben Verth and John Millar. And p'haps proffering some cake.

Beehive Inn, Edinburgh, 22 & 23 Jan, £10

Hello My Name is Paul Smith

Credit: KVRANCKEN

Thu 21 Jan

Credit: Daniel Lacasta Fitzsimmons

Wed 20 Jan

Drift

Thu 28 Jan

Pitching up at Sneaky Pete's as part of Independent Venue Week, all-girl glitter pop kids on the block TeenCanteen play an intimate headline set – having just about recovered from their fundraiser night The Girl Effect #2 at the tail-end of last year – hopefully previewing tracks from their forthcoming debut LP, which they successfully funded via Pledgemusic. Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh, 7pm, £7

Combining musical forces for thrice the wonderment, Scottish singer/songwriters James Yorkston, The Pictish Trail (aka Johnny Lynch), and Withered Hand take to Celtic Connections for a stage-sharer of a gig, playing solo tracks, collaborating, and indulging y'all with a bit of chit-chat.

Also playing Edinburgh's Summerhall a few nights earlier, 23 Jan. Mitchell Theatre, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £14.50

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Chat

TeenCanteen



Credit: Kat Gollock

Wed 27 Jan

Having recently chatted with us about his eventful life and candid third LP (which also saw him cover star on our Northwest October 2015 edition; see online for accompanying interview), American singer/songwriter (and one time Czars frontman) John Grant heads Scotland-way for a stint at Celtic Connections, with support from local folkstress Rachel Sermanni.

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, 7.30pm, from £24

Credit: Gemma Sweeney, BBC

Tue 26 Jan

John Grant

The League of Extraordinary Gentleman

Credit: Petter Zenrod

Compiled by: Anna Docherty

Tue 5 Jan

Gareth Waugh

The Pictish Trail

THE SKINNY

Credit: Jassy Earl

Heads Up

Mon 4 Jan

Thu 7 Jan

Fri 8 Jan

Kicking off the new year in its usual merry musical way, King Tut's hosts its annual January blues beater – King Tut's New Year's Revolution – with 80-odd bands playing over sixteen nights, amongst 'em headline sets from Little Waves (who open proceedings), Bloodlines, Apache Darling, Halo Tora, and more. See listings for full schedule.

King Tut's, Glasgow, 7-21 Jan, various times and prices

We're assuming you've all recovered from your Hogmanay reveling by now, or indeed perhaps you've still not stopped? Either way, you'll be wanting to get yourself down to Subbie tonight for one of those all too rare occasions when Slam DJ duo Stuart McMillan and Orde Meikle take complete control of the Return to Mono decks for the whole evening. Sub Club, Glasgow, 11pm, from £6

Thu 14 Jan

The Dovecot opens its doors for prize-giving showcase exhibition, W. Gordon Smith Award – celebrating the life of the distinguished art critic, author, dramatist, and filmmaker – bringing together the successful submitted entries from both invited artists working in Scotland and Scottish artists working throughout the UK/ abroad, with prize bucks totalling £15k. Dovecot, Edinburgh, 12-20 Jan, free

One half of the hit topical podcast The Bugle, British comic-cum-author Andy Zaltzman returns to the stage with his 'Satirist for Hire' tour, taking commissions from you, the public, and constructing them into two hours of laughs, with ticket buyers encouraged to email Zaltzman their personal gripes ahead of the show (FYI, past topics have included everything from payday loans to, er, cooking croquettes). The Stand, Edinburgh, 8.30pm, £12

This year's Celtic Connections kicks off in celebratory mode with a bumper-sized concert marking the 50th anniversary of Scotland’s Traditional Music and Song Association, played out by a one-off Scottish vocal line-up that includes Kris Drever, Adam McNaughton, and Barbara Dickson, plus international guests, taking in everything from ancient songs to modern originals. Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, 7.30pm, from £20

Sandy Moffat

Andy Zaltzman

Mon 18 Jan

Tue 19 Jan

Having grabbed our attention last year with their debut LP, the fledgling hip-hop inspired project of sonic boomer Jonnie Common and Conquering Animal Sound's Jamie Scott – CARBS – take to intimate Glasgow gig haven The Hug and Pint with their dizzying mix of collected sounds, slouchy electronica, and skewed sort-of-rap, sharing the bill with ULTRAS and JJJJonathan. The Hug and Pint, Glasgow, 7.30pm, £7

A busy ol' chap this month (see also 28 Jan), Fife-dwelling folkie par excellence James Yorkston airs the ongoing fruits of his collaborative trio project with sarangi player and classical singer Suhail Yusuf Khan, and Lamb's double bass player Jon Thorne, taking to Celtic Connections to officially launch their debut LP. Support comes from distinctive-voiced songstress Lisa O'Neill.

Tron Theatre, Glasgow, 8pm, £14

CARBS

James Yorkston, Suhail Yusuf Khan and Jon Thorne

Sun 24 Jan

Mon 25 Jan

Glasgow Sculpture Studios hosts The Transparent Tortoiseshell and the Un-ripe Umbrella – a group exhibition exploring artists who use everyday objects to create abstract pictorial assemblages, including work by Eva Berendes, Stephanie Mann, Rallou Panagiotou, Vanessa Safavi, and Samara Scott.

Also a contender for best exhibition title, like, ever.

Glasgow Sculpture Studios, Glasgow, 23 Jan-5 Mar, free

The National Theatre of Scotland celebrates the kick-off of its 10th birthday programme with a one-off Meet the Artists event at Edinburgh's Lyceum, offering punters a sneak peek at its 2016 season with exclusive excerpts from forthcoming performances, plus inside chat from the writers, directors, designers, and actors involved. And all for gratis! Hosted by Laurie Sansom. Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, 4pm, free

The third annual Independent Venue Week spreads its wings across the UK (running until 31 Jan), shining the limelight on those humble venues that support the grassroots of our local music scenes – with Scottish gig highlights including an opening day set from Matthew E. White at Edinburgh's Electric Circus, plus oodles more still to be announced. See independentvenueweek.com

Credit: Eva Berendes

Sat 23 Jan

Eva Berendes, Grid (umberella), Steel, 2013, lacquer, mixed media

Kris Prever

Laurie Sansom

Matthew E. White

Fri 29 Jan

Sat 30 Jan

Sun 31 Jan

Mon 1 Feb

Warranting a jaunt to Aberdeen, Manipulate festival kicks of official, showcasing an e'er innovative array of Scottish and world visual theatre, puppetry, and animation – opening with the European premiere of Julian Crouch and Saskia Lane's Birdheart, brought to magical life with a sheet of brown paper, found objects, shadows, and a box of sand. The Lemon Tree, Aberdeen, 7pm, £13.20 (£11)

The CCA host a one-off screening of Nottinghamhailing duo Sleaford Mods' documentary Invisible Britain, following the band on tour of the UK in the run up to the 2015 General Election – much more than a band doc, it sees them visiting the broken down parts of the country, bringing viewers face-to-face with the desperation of those without a voice in austerity Britain. CCA, Glasgow, 3.30pm, £7 (£5)

Vic and Bob take to the road for their rescheduled tour, bringing Reeves and Mortimer: The Poignant Years to Edinburgh for a one night stop-off – celebrating 25 years of daft collab, which has taken them from Vic Reeves Big Night Out in 1990, to the long-running Shooting Stars (1999-2011), up to current sitcom House of Fools. Anyone else feel ancient? Playhouse, Edinburgh, 7.30pm, from £30.75

After its initial opening in Aberdeen (see 29 Jan), Manipulate gets under way proper over in Edinburgh – with a highlight of the first day's proceedings being the UK premiere of Close Up, the final part of Editta Braun's magical trilogy, with a grand piano, one pianist, and five dancers taking the place of spoken dialogue. Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, 7.30pm, £16.50 (£13.50/£8.50)

Birdheart

January 2016

Invisible Britain



Reeves and Mortimer

Close Up

Chat

9

Credit: Jannica Honey

Wed 13 Jan

Credit: Vito Andreoni

Tue 12 Jan

Credit: ChloeGarrick

Slam

Credit: Editta Braun

Apache Darling

S RE

The Beer and Now

FE

AT U

Food & Drink Survey 2016

We look at your five favourite breweries from across Scotland, and which of their beers to try first

We asked you to name your foodie favourites, and you responded in your droves. Here are your favourite places to eat, drink and be merry

Words: Peter Simpson WEST Brewery Based out of the Templeton building on Glasgow Green, WEST serve up beer which is old-fashioned in the very best sense of the phrase. Concocting their beers according to the German Purity Law of 1516, their brews contain only barley, hops, yeast and water. And yet WEST’s beers have some serious variety and range, with absolutely no faffing around required.

WEST’s St Mungo is a hybrid of two regional German styles, mixing elements of a Bavarian helles and a dry, northern German pils. The result is a beer that tastes of an awful lot, but doesn’t linger around for ages afterwards – ideal when there’s a whole brewery and hundreds of years of tradition to work your way through.

Williams Bros

The Hanging Bat

Pub Club

Williams’ ascent from micro-brewery to full-fledged brewing colossus continues apace, but that’s a good thing. Their beers remain as delicious as ever, and if the Alloa brewery’s expansion means there’s more good beer going about then we’re all for it.

Their Caesar Augustus hybrid has the lightness and crisp taste of a good lager with the hoppy aroma and bit of an IPA. It’s a great option when you can’t decide what kind of beer you want, but know that you do want something good, and it’s also light enough that going back for another one isn’t a bad idea either.

Pilot A Leith micro-brewery with a penchant for collaboration and experimentation, Pilot make beer fun.

Whether it’s with their pun-tastic beer names, their exciting flavour combinations, or their regular

We delve into your favourite Edinburgh and Glasgow pubs, and find a modern mix of beer bars, all-day hangouts, and lovely spots by the river

Twitter updates on their work experience’s teamaking, Pilot are making brilliant beer and seem to be having a whale of a time doing it.

Start off with their Blønd golden ale, available on regular rotation at pubs across Edinburgh and beyond; it packs a nice citrus and pineapple punch despite a relatively low ABV, and the lack of finings mean that even vegans can enjoy it.

Drygate The ‘experiential’ brewery may now be fully embedded in their home on the fringes of the Wellpark Brewery, but Drygate are still marching to the beat of their own drum. Their range is tasty and varied, their design is full of fun motifs and lovely fonts, and their on-site bar and kitchen is a great place to while away the hours.

Their hoppy and punchy Bearface lager is the place to start – great-tasting, not too heavy, and come on, it’s called Bearface. You must be intrigued, at the very least.

Innis & Gunn The Edinburgh brewer threw open the doors of their first pub in 2015, and their range of interesting and somewhat leftfield beers continues to grow and grow. Not bad for a brewery whose most famous beer came about as the by-product of some whisky making.

That beer, their oak-aged Original brew remains the one to try first. Packed with sweetness and with a serious aroma, it’s a bit like being punched in the face with a vanilla ice cream cone.

It’s heady, sweet, delicious, and not to be forgotten in a hurry.

Full results on p.16

Words: Peter Simpson

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ubs; they’re good, aren’t they? The prevailing logic is that the classic pub is like an episode of The Simpsons; everyone has a favourite, and the older they are, the more likely they are to be worth investigating. But this year’s chosen crop of pubs and bars in Glasgow and Edinburgh aren’t all that trad – in fact, there’s a pleasingly modern feel to your selections.

In Edinburgh, you plumped for two bars which encapsulate a couple of the key developments in pub-world in recent years. The Hanging Bat on Lothian Road prides itself on housing an incredible range of beers and spirits, within a modern and bright environment. Its staff know their beer and will talk you from one end of the intimidating tap board to the other, the food is on point, and the whole venue feels like a celebration of beer rather than a big room which happens to serve beer.

The Roseleaf in Leith, on the other hand, is a great example of the modern, sociable, all-day pub.

The food, the decor and the overall vibe make it a great place to be at any time of the day or night, whether you’re airing post-work grievances over a pint or two, or fitting in a bit of lunch on your day off.

Over in Glasgow your selections were equally eclectic. Bath Street hangout Moskito was among your choices, and its laid-back approach makes it an ideal option when you’ve a tough crowd to please. It’s affordable but still has a nice feel to it, beer-lovers will be pleased to see draught options

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from Food Survey winners Drygate and Innis & Gunn on tap, and there’s even outside seating for your unrepentant optimists and smokers who insist on telling you that “it doesn’t look like it’ll rain.”

You also liked newcomer The Hug and Pint, which isn’t so much a pub as a pub-slash-vegandiner-slash-gig-venue. The bar is well-stocked with assorted boozes from all over the place, the food is inventive enough to excite the most bloodthirsty carnivore, and having a eclecticallybooked and well-marshalled gig room in the place sure beats the standard muted TV that no-one’s watching.

Of course, you lot do still have love for the traditional pub in general, with Glasgow’s Inn Deep the particular beneficiary of your votes. The Williams Bros outpost on the banks of the Kelvin, Inn Deep has built on its great location rather than resting on its laurels. There’s good food, a barbecue selection complementing some pub grub classics, and good beer, with the Williams range complemented by the kind of guest brews you’d expect from a pub run by one of your favourite breweries. Sport on the TV if you fancy it, or a lovely view onto the river if you don’t, and you can even bring your dog along if you’re that way inclined. A dog, in a pub? See, pubs really can do everything these days. theskinny.co.uk/food

Drygate

FOOD AND DRINK

THE SKINNY

New Kids on the Block Your favourite new cafes, bars and shops in Edinburgh and Glasgow are a motley crew – we take a closer look at your top five Words: Peter Simpson

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Lovecrumbs

Top of the Cups Cafes and coffee shops come in many shapes and sizes, so let’s look at your five favourites from this year’s survey and see what makes each of them stand out Words: Peter Simpson

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e’ll start with the serious coffee buffs amongst you, and with Papercup Coffee Company on Glasgow’s Great Western Road.

Back in your top five for the second straight year, Papercup has everything the modern coffee lover could desire. They roast their own beans to get the flavour just right, supply and train up baristas at cafes across the city, and between doing all that they still find the time to make a tasty flat white.

If you’re on the lookout for a friendly neighbourhood cafe, head across the Kelvin to North Star. An quirky little cafe and bistro with an eclectic vibe, it combines cafe standards – such as actionpacked breakfasts and inventive cakes – with a fresh and exciting Italian menu. Expect delicious food, a solid cappuccino, and just the right amount of chit-chat to get your day off to a flying start.

For those of you who like a cafe to do more than dose you up on coffee and fire you out the door, there is The Glad Cafe. A Southside staple, it’s made its way into the top five in this survey in each of the last three years, and it’s easy to see why. The Glad Cafe is a genuine hub for the Southside community, with gigs, art exhibitions, film screenings, festivals and its own twice-yearly zine among the many projects hosted by the GC. This is the kind of place where the breakfast features homemade

bread, the coffee is delicious and locally-sourced, and everything comes with an enormous side of artistic inspiration.

When our Glasgow readers fancy a coffee but find themselves outside the leafy wonders of the West End or the up-and-coming delights of the Southside, a favourite city centre hideaway is Riverhill Coffee Bar on Gordon Street. Duck out of the crowds and you’ll find a counter thronging with cakes and pastries, delicious coffees, and a chance to decompress after running the Buchanan Street shopping gauntlet and coming out with only a third spare iPhone charger and some socks to show for it. It’s fine – Riverhill will make it all better.

Meanwhile, over in Edinburgh, the world of eclectic cakes and quirky interior design choices that is Lovecrumbs has beguiled and delighted once again. The wardrobe full of sugary treats, with daily changes and new flavours to try, paired with excellent coffee and bespoke-blended hot chocolates make it an ideal stop for a sugar and caffeinepacked double whammy. It’s bright, it’s convivial, and the cakes are to die for, and sometimes that’s all you really need.

e all have our favourite places to eat and drink – in fact, that’s sort of the whole premise of this survey – and the temptation is to head for those safe harbours whenever we’re out and about. But eventually we all need to find some new ‘old favourites’, and seek out places where not everybody knows our name, but they’ll probably make the effort to learn it if we’re nice.

When you’re trying to make new friends a tasty beer tends to help matters along, and Edinburgh’s Growler Beers have you covered in that department. Growler’s model is a simple one – rent a reusable bottle, fill it with draught beer or cider from some of the best craft breweries in Scotland and beyond, take it home, and repeat. A great range of beers, a useful end product and the opportunity to have a nice pint without having to jostle for a chair; that’s how you win people over.

You also took a shine to Finnieston new boys Porter & Rye, who threw their doors open in the final week of 2014 and then spent the year wowing all and sundry with amazing steaks and equally fine drinks. P&R’s commitment to their cause is impressive; it’s one thing to age all your steaks in-house for at least seven weeks, it’s quite another to serve up a pig’s head on your ‘small plates’ menu. Porter & Rye do meat properly, they seem to say, so that’s what you should eat – make sure you leave room for one of their Instagram-bait desserts though.

In an impressive display of balance, you also picked out The Hug and Pint on Great Western Road as one of your favourite newbies of 2015.

While its importance to Glasgow’s live music ecology isn’t to be overlooked, its role as a

Full results on p.16

theskinny.co.uk/food

Riverhill Coffee Bar

January 2016

veggie-friendly spot in the midst of red meat armageddon is what we’re interested in. An everchanging set of vegan dishes are on the menu, with pan-Asian influences to the fore and a host of exotic ingredients and treatments thrown in for good measure. Add in a great selection of beers, and those gigs we mentioned earlier, and you’re on to a winner. Evidently.

You also took a shine to two new cafes – Twelve Triangles in Edinburgh and Glasgow’s Bakery 47. Twelve Triangles is the second outpost in the burgeoning Lovecrumbs empire, with a focus on fresh breads, croissants, and doughnuts. Oh, those doughnuts – they’re like sugary hand grenades filled with delicious homemade jams and custards. Go early, have a doughnut, run around Leith Walk for hours afterwards.

Bakery47 have been baking on Glasgow’s southside for a few years now, with their bakes and breads turning up in various venues across the city, and threw open the doors of their Victoria Road bakery in February. They’ve built up an impressive local rep, and an equally impressive list of collaborators.

Their first year’s seen coffee pop-ups from some of Glasgow’s finest, poetry nights, a teamup with CCA on their Cooking Pot project, collaborative sourdough chocolate bars (note to self: find sourdough chocolate bar) and lots more besides. Like everyone on this list, they’re doing new, exciting things with food and drink, so we better all make some room on that ‘favourites’ list.

FOOD AND DRINK

Twelve Triangles

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Food of Love

Keep On Moving

Get classy and cosy with your favourite restaurants and bars to head for on a romantic date

Stopping to eat? Pfft, we say, as we take a look at your favourite takeaways and venues for food on-the-go

Words: Peter Simpson

Words: Peter Simpson

Ox and Finch

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uch like taking a long journey, or firing a pistol while jumping through the air, dating in the movies tends to be very different to how it is in real life. On screen, dates are either perfectly crafted nuggets of romance with enormous unexplained time gaps, or they’re embarrassing nightmares involving copious vomit and/or swearing.

Dates in real life tend to be more sedate affairs, squeezed in between long days at work and all that ‘sitting around time’ you’ve pencilled in. If you’re going out on a date, it’s worth going somewhere nice, and that’s one word that describes each of your favourite date places.

Inn Deep, off Great Western Road in Glasgow, is nice. It’s got a lovely riverside view onto the Kelvin below, there’s a cosy ambience to the place, and the great beer selection will give you and your date something to discuss if things are really flagging, or the fuel needed to openly discuss said flagging. Stravaigin is also nice. The West End feature serves up lovely, inventive food in a homely, woody atmosphere; there’s a roaring fire for a snuggly winter catch-up, and outside seating for an afternoon lunch of judging passers-by on their haircuts and poor sartorial choices. Convivial is the word we’re looking for; well, nice and convivial.

Ox and Finch, on the Finnieston strip, also manages that particular combo. The ‘small plates

for sharing’ menu manages, if not enforces, a level of conversation and cooperation that make this an ideal second or third date venture. Yes, your new partner seems lovely, but will they crash through the confit duck before you have the chance to pick up your fork? Take the high road, enjoy the menu and the bright and quirky space, and mark their lack of sharing for later. It’ll give you something to talk about, if nothing else.

You’ll definitely have plenty to chat about after a meal at Timberyard in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle. The setting’s one thing, but step through the enormous red door and things move up a gear.

Dishes are laid out like works of art, beautifully presented and packed with intriguing ingredients, and the dining room somehow manages to keep its warehouse roots while presenting a cosy space ideal for a well-deserved date night.

Blackfriars in Edinburgh takes cosy to a whole new level; dates in the dark, moody and strippedback space could easily take on a conspiratorial tone if that’s what you’re into. The drinks list is excellent, the food is modern and inventive, and the place has one of the most charming and besthidden beer gardens in the city. We won’t tell you how to find it; just know that if you find your way there, it was meant to be. theskinny.co.uk/food

Piece

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s lovely as it would be to take lengthy lunches every day, and spend weekend afternoons mulling over multi-course meals, we’re busy people.

Those viral videos don’t watch themselves, and the longer we spend eating the higher the likelihood of adding to the Sunday afternoon washing mountain. Still, ‘New Year New You’ and all that, and if we can’t make time to sit down and eat, the least we can all do is make sure we’re putting the best stuff possible inside ourselves as we run from one bus to another.

A good place to start is Martha’s, the Glasgow takeaway dedicated to making your breakfast and lunch that little bit healthier. We say ‘a little’, but this place is like a one-room health kick, from the salads packed with all manner of exotic veg to the all-action smoothies heaving with vitamins and other goodness. Even the less healthy stuff fits; the bacon’s award-winning, and Martha’s policy of only selling sausage rolls on Fridays takes your feeble willpower out of the dietary equation.

Speaking of rolls, let’s talk about Piece.

Gourmet sandwichmonger is quite the title to give oneself, but considering the sarnies flying out the door at Piece it seems entirely appropriate. A sandwich shop with a breathtaking multi-section menu, Piece are true artists when it comes to putting things between bread. Then they start saying things like ‘salt beef and egg mayo-filled croissant’ and we start throwing money at them and wondering whether it’s possible to courier sandwiches down

Ox and Finch

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the M8 in the space of a lunch break.

From this point on, things devolve into a threeway burrito battle between a trio of your favourite Mexican eateries. We guess you could call it... a Mexican stand-off. High-five, anyone? Come on, don’t leave us hanging. First up are Los Cardos, the Leith takeaway inspired by Cali-Mex street food, but served with a uniquely Scottish twist. Haggis burritos – doesn’t sound like it should really go, but it does all work. Irvine Welsh swears by them, so you lot are in good company.

You’re also fans of Pinto and Taco Mazama, the duo of Glasgow-based Mexican joints which have recently made moves across the country to the east coast. Mazama serve veggies and vegans well, with chipotle-braised tofu and baked butternut squash sitting alongside the ubiquitous veggie chilli and a whole host of meaty options, while Pinto have perfected the production line that’s at the heart of a good burrito. There’s a perfectly even distribution of ingredients, the whole thing comes together in about 15 seconds, and by the end you’ve spoken to about 9 different, cheery people. So if anyone gets shirty with you for daring to leave your desk for ten minutes, you have the perfect cover – you haven’t been slacking off and getting yourself a lovely lunch, you’ve been doing some impromptu networking, and you’ve even managed to schedule in a repeat meeting or two.

Full results on p.16

Pinto

THE SKINNY

January 2016

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Award winning family run cafe situated in the heart of Glasgow’s West End Home-made dairy and gluten free cakes baked daily 108 Queen Margaret Dr Glasgow 0141 946 5365

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THE SKINNY

The Wide World of Food Your favourite international restaurants hail from across the globe – cutlery in hand, it’s time to take a whistle-stop world tour Words: Peter Simpson

I Babu Bombay Street Kitchen

Hanoi Bike Shop

t’s always the most nebulous of all our Food and Drink Survey categories – isn’t every kind of food from somewhere in the world, we hear you ask – but we ask for your world food favourites because there are just so many great places to choose from across Edinburgh and Glasgow. We’ve narrowed the results down to your favourite five, beginning our world tour in a Glasgow outpost India's most popular city.

Babu Bombay Street Kitchen offers up authentic twists on Indian street food classics, with an option for any time of the day or night. From breakfast chapattis to on-the-go snacks via a host of amazing curries, Babu spend their days brightening up Glasgow tastebuds from their West Regent Street basement, even when it’s blowing a force nine gale and raining sideways on the street above.

Heading west, we hit the USA, and Frontier in Edinburgh. The Bruntsfield site has been through a range of tenants over the years, but Frontier’s take on US cuisine seems set to stick, not least because of an impressive/ daunting menu. Cajun catfish, southern barbecue and fried chicken, Colorado-inspired stews, Chicago hotdogs, New York burgers, massive syrup-packed breakfasts – Frontier is like a one-room foodie tour of the US. From the States to south-east Asia, and Hanoi Bike Shop, in Glasgow’s West End. Step in

off Ruthven Lane, and the first thing that hits is the unmistakable whiff of fish sauce. Then there’s the film-set decor and close, intimate atmosphere.

And then there’s the pho. Oh, the pho – big bowls of fragrant broth packed with noodles, meat, veg and with a selection of herbs to add as you will.

You’ll dribble broth on your lap, your chopstick skills will go to pot, and you won’t mind – this pho is worth making a meal of, in every sense.

Over in Edinburgh, Ting Thai Caravan fires out action-packed street-style dishes from one of the city’s coolest settings. The menu fits on two sides of paper, and it’s no exaggeration to say that every dish is worth trying. There’s the Khao Sawy Talay, a fried noodle dish loaded up with seafood; there are the soup bowls laden with aromatics, meats and vegetables; curries, salads, various fried things and a whole load more besides – try them all, you won’t regret it.

Fiinally, we return to India, and to venerable Glasgow institution Mother India. Delicious southern Indian dishes abound in this big brother to the sharing, tapas-style Mother India’s Cafe. One for the grown-ups – making the correct menu decision matters so much more when only you’ll end up eating it – but with MI’s pedigree, it’s safe to say you won’t go far wrong no matter what you pick.

Full results on p.16

Shop and Awe Grab your tote bag and your shopping list – here are your favourite grocery stores, food emporiums and booze merchants Words: Peter Simpson

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icture food shopping, and it’s easy to get stuck on images of fluorescent light bulbs, aisles you could drive a small bus through, and walking twenty minutes across some kind of proto-aircraft hangar because the milk’s at one end and the beer’s at the other. Luckily, your favourite food and drink shops show that there is a better way to get the shopping done, although it does involve a bit of walking so let’s get to it.

First stop fruit and veg, and Roots & Fruits on Glasgow’s Great Western Road. We say fruit and veg, but Roots & Fruits is the super-hyper-deluxe version of your typical greengrocer. Delicious fresh produce abounds, and the connected deli, organic grocers and flower shop make a great one-stop shop. Fill your kitchen/diner with stuff from Roots & Fruits, and everything will seem fine with the world (although your arms may hurt a bit from lugging it all down the road).

When your cupboard is in need of a serious spice boost, head over to Lupe Pintos. The Mexican deli’s shelves are packed wall-to-wall with goodies from across the Americas and beyond, with an incredible range of hot sauces, preserves and spices.

Lupe’s also offer store cupboard essentials like tacos, tortillas and flours at prices that should make the big supermarkets feel embarrassed, and encourage their locals to put all those items

January 2016

to good use in their annual Chili Cook-Off competition.

After all that spice, you’ll need something to cool down, which may explain why you lot have voted three off-licences into your food shop top five. First up is Valhalla’s Goat in Glasgow’s West End. Besides having one of the greatest shop names we’ve ever heard, Valhalla’s Goat shine with an incredible range of booze. The place is wall-towall with beers, wines and spirits from across the globe, with just enough room left over to plonk yourself in the middle and try to work out what to snap up first.

Over in Edinburgh, The Beerhive in Canonmills has a spectacular range of beers and a staff that are more than able to talk you through their various merits. Then there’s the Kegerator, the Beerhive’s draught pourer which can serve up kegged beer to take home alongside your many, many bottles.

On a similar note, Growler Beers offer the flavour and texture of a pub pint but in the comfort of your favourite chair, and taking the beer home beats the alternative of taking your favourite chair to the pub. With a range of beers from breweries across Scotland and beyond, Growler can help you get a good pint at home, where you pick the music and no-one will have you thrown out for going behind the bar for another bag of crisps.

FOOD AND DRINK

Roots, Fruits and Flowers

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The Winners The full list of your favourite pubs, cafes, restaurants and shops in this year's Food and Drink Survey Illustration: Mica Warren

Northwest: The Winners Best Beer Four of a Kind IPA, Blackjack Brewery, 36 Gould St, Manchester (@Blackjackbeers) | Love Lane Pale Ale, Liverpool Craft Beer Co, The Railway Arches, 10 Love Ln, Liverpool (@Craft_Beers) | Marble English IPA, Marble Beers Ltd, 57 Thomas St, Manchester (@ marblebrewers) | Rye Pale Ale, Liverpool Craft Beer Co, The Railway Arches, 10 Love Ln, Liverpool (@ Craft_Beers) | Sonoma Pale Ale, Track Brewing Co, 5 Sheffield St, Manchester (@trackbrewco)

Best Pub

Best Cafe

Best Newcomer

Best Date Place

The Hanging Bat 133 Lothian Rd, Edinburgh thehangingbat.com @TheHangingBat

The Glad Cafe 1006A Pollokshaws Rd, Glasgow thegladcafe.co.uk | @thegladcafe

Bakery 47 76 Victoria Rd, Glasgow bakery47.com | @bakery47

Lovecrumbs 155 West Port, Edinburgh lovecrumbs.co.uk @hellolovecrumbs

Growler Beers 229 Morningside Rd, Edinburgh growlerbeersuk.com @growlerbeersuk

Blackfriars 57 Blackfriars St, Edinburgh blackfriarsedinburgh.co.uk @blackfriars_st

North Star 108 Queen Margaret Dr, Glasgow

The Hug and Pint 171 Great Western Rd, Glasgow thehugandpint.com @thehugandpint_

The Hug and Pint 171 Great Western Rd, Glasgow thehugandpint.com @thehugandpint_ Inn Deep 445 Great Western Rd, Glasgow inndeep.com | @InnDeepBar Moskito 200 Bath St, Glasgow moskitoglasgow.com @moskitoglasgow The Roseleaf 23-24 Sandport Pl, Edinburgh roseleaf.co.uk | @Roseleafbarcafe @thevintageleith

Papercup 603 Great Western Rd, Glasgow papercupcoffeecompany.bigcartel.com | @pccoffeeuk Riverhill Coffee Bar 24 Gordon St, Glasgow riverhillcafe.com @RiverhillCoffee

Porter & Rye 1131 Argyll St, Glasgow porterandrye.com @porterandrye Twelve Triangles 90 Brunswick St, Edinburgh twelvetriangles.co.uk @twelvetriangles

Inn Deep 445 Great Western Rd, Glasgow inndeep.com | @InnDeepBar Ox & Finch 920 Sauchiehall St, Glasgow oxandfinch.com | @oxandfinch Stravaigin 28 Gibson St, Glasgow stravaigin.co.uk | @stravaiginG12 Timberyard 10 Lady Lawson St , Edinburgh timberyard.co | @Timberyard10

Best Cafe East Avenue Bakehouse, 112 Bold St, Liverpool (@ EABakehouse) | Fallow, 2A Landcross Rd, Manchester (@fallowcafe) | Koffee Pot, 84 Oldham St, Manchester (@thekoffeepot) | Tea Hive, 53 Manchester Rd, Manchester (@teahivetweets) | Trove, 1032 Stockport Rd, Manchester (@trovefoods)

Best Date Place East Avenue Bakehouse, 112 Bold St, Liverpool (@EABakehouse) | Evil Eye Burrito Shack, 208 Smithdown Rd, Liverpool (@evileyeburritos) HOME, 2 Tony Wilson Pl, Manchester (@HOME_mcr) Maray, 91 Bold St, Liverpool (@MarayLiverpool) Market House, Greenwood St, Altrincham (@MarketHouseAlty)

Best Food and Drink Shop Beermoth, 70 Tib St, Manchester (@thebeermoth) Delifonseca, 12 Stanley St, Liverpool (@delifonseca) Epicerie Ludo, 46 Beech Rd, Manchester (@EpicerieLudo) | Matta’s, 51 Bold St, Liverpool (@MattasLiverpool) | Unicorn, 89 Albany Rd, Manchester (@UnicornGrocery)

Best Newcomer Chapati Cafe, 496b Wilbraham Rd, Chorlton (@ chapaticafe) | GRUB, Manchester (@GRUBMCR) HOME, 2 Tony Wilson Pl, Manchester (@HOME_mcr) Mowgli, 69 Bold St, Liverpool (@mowglistfood) Pao!, 61 Jordan St, Liverpool (@paofoodpower)

Best Beer

Best Food & Drink Shop

Best World Food Place

Best Place On The Go

Drygate drygate.com @drygate

The Beerhive 24 Rodney St, Edinburgh thebeerhive.co.uk @thebeer_hive

Babu Bombay Street Kitchen 186 West Regent St, Glasgow babu-kitchen.com @babukitchen

Los Cardos 281 Leith Walk, Edinburgh loscardos.co.uk @loscardos

Growler Beers 229 Morningside Rd, Edinburgh growlerbeersuk.com @growlerbeersuk

Frontier 8 Gillespie Pl, Edinburgh frontierestaurant.co.uk @frontierfood

Martha’s 142A St Vincent St, Glasgow mymarthas.co.uk @Mymarthas

Lupe Pintos 24 Leven St, Edinburgh; 313 Great Western Rd, Glasgow lupepintos.com

Hanoi Bike Shop Ruthven Ln, Glasgow hanoibikeshop.co.uk @HanoiBikeShop

Piece 1056 Argyle St, Glasgow pieceglasgow.com @pieceglasgow

Roots & Fruits 1137 Argyle St, Glasgow rootsandfruits.com @rootsfruits

Mother India 28 Westminster Tce, Glasgow motherindia.co.uk @Official_MIndia

Pinto Various in Glasgow & Edinburgh pintomexican.com @ilovepinto

Valhalla’s Goat 449 Great Western Rd, Glasgow valhallasgoat.com @valhallasgoat

Ting Thai Caravan 8 Teviot Pl, Edinburgh

Taco Mazama Various in Glasgow & Edinburgh tacomazama.co.uk @tacomazama

Innis & Gunn innisandgunn.com @innisandgunnuk Pilot pilotbeer.co.uk @pilotbeeruk WEST Brewery westbeer.com @westbeer Williams Bros. williamsbrosbrew.com @williamsbrewery

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FOOD AND DRINK

Best Place On-the-Go Evil Eye Burrito Shack, 208 Smithdown Rd, Liverpool (@evileyeburritos) | Katsouris, 113 Deansgate, Manchester (katsourisdeli.co.uk) | NoLita Cantina, 81 Bold St, Liverpool (@nolitacantina) | Northern Soul Grilled Cheese, 10 Church St, Manchester (@northernsoulMCR) | Viet Shack, Arndale Food Market, 49 High St, Manchester (@vietshack)

Best Pub or Bar Berry & Rye, 48 Berry St, Liverpool (@berry_and_rye) Evil Eye Burrito Shack, 208 Smithdown Rd, Liverpool (@evileyeburritos) | The Grapes, 60 Roscoe St, Liverpool (@LiverpoolGrapes) | Salut Wines, 11 Cooper St, Manchester (@salutwines) | Ship & Mitre, 133 Dale St, Liverpool (@theshipandmitre)

Best World Food Place Bakchich, 54 Bold St, Liverpool (@bakchich_) Evil Eye Burrito Shack, 208 Smithdown Rd, Liverpool (@evileyeburritos) | Ibérica, 14-15 The Avenue Spinningfields, Manchester (@IbericaMCR) Mowgli, 69 Bold St, Liverpool (@mowglistfood) Muhgli, 30 Wilmslow Rd, Manchester (muhgli.com)

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Screening Events

www.collectivegallery.net

Opacities Programmed with Kathryn Elkin & Peter Taylor 4, 6 & 11 February 2016 7—9pm Wojciech Bakowski, Sound of my Soul, Film Still, 2014

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THE SKINNY

Credit: Francesca Jane Allen

Darkness Visible Second album Not to Disappear is a vivid re-scoping of Daughter’s artful melancholy.

Elena Tonra tells us why the search for truth remains at the heart of her lyrical design

“W

ell, actually, funnily enough, that backof-the-bus jamming didn’t really lead anywhere in the end. Writing on tour just didn’t seem to work at all.” Elena Tonra recalls her last interview with The Skinny: a conversation that took place towards the end of 2013 as the band explored the American South. At the time, with debut album If You Leave connecting with audiences at home and abroad, Tonra and bandmates Igor Haefeli (guitar) and Remi Aguilella (drums) were trying to tease out new songs via tried and tested methods.

Could writing be squeezed into the downtime that touring inevitably brings? For Daughter, sadly, the answer was no. “It just wasn’t happening. We did a few rehearsals and sound checks, even, where we would just play and jam with each other but I think most of the writing for this album came from us being separated and doing our own thing over the Christmas of 2014, and then just a lot of writing off tour. We got a studio – we rented a place and wrote there. So yeah, back-of-the-bus jams didn’t work.” She laughs. (Tonra, in another break with rock ‘n’ roll tradition, laughs throughout our interview. She laughs before, during and after every answer. It’s infectious. More bands should try it.) “Well, actually, maybe a few ideas might have trickled in but, yeah…”

Tonra is at home in London as she reflects on the handful of shows her band has just played (“We’ve started to have fun on stage, I think, with these very un-fun songs. Very strange!”) as a prelude to the release in January of second album Not to Disappear. Their debut, a modest and unassuming work whose deft shadowplay saw them close their UK touring campaign in front of large, enraptured audiences, always felt like an anomaly.

A spare, trim work of dusky confessionals, with no signature tunes or anthems, it asked much of its audience. Not to Disappear is a gutsier work by some distance: more guitars, more volume, more everything. It’s a high-stakes follow-up and this time around, supporting its lofty ambitions, Daughter’s singer finds more – in every sense – of her voice.

It’s not so much of a leap: you can see how the one bridges into the other. But it casts into

January 2016

sharp relief the almost surprising nature of their immediate success. If You Leave was a tender and beautifully crafted record but it was a tough listen at times. “Yeah, we were very surprised it connected like that,” says Tonra. “It felt like a very introverted record. The thing is, I think it’s sharing a lot. I think I overshare things in my lyrics – maybe it’s that ‘telling people all my secrets’ thing. I don’t know. It’s just that difference between, I’m saying a lot in the lyrics and then it’s still like…” She pauses to consider. “I guess it’s always been a surprise – we’ve been playing these shows recently and we’ve even played some festivals and, oddly, it’s connecting, it seems. Already, people seem to get it.

It’s quite a relief, in actual fact.”

Not to Disappear’s grander scale will, over time you suspect, only expand Daughter’s appeal.

Lead single Doing the Right Thing is at once a more direct hit: accessible without compromise.

It’s the sound of Daughter flexing, and not just their muscles. “Yeah, it’s a bit more confident and a bit more aggressive. The thing is, our sound was developing anyway: the If You Leave songs changed after being toured for two years. Sound-wise, things grew. We invested in equipment and got new pedals and got more into that sort of thing.

Our sound had already started to move. “ What hasn’t changed is Tonra’s approach to lyric writing. If anything, she’s opened up. Two years ago, she wondered whether the music had perhaps shielded much of her unforgiving candour. Now, with Daughter wielding a fuller sound, that protection should have been bolstered but suddenly she’s more exposed. “I think that maybe from a listener’s perspective it feels that the lyrics might have changed in that respect,” she agrees.

“I felt really strange about the writing this time – it was like the words were coming at me, almost coming out as if they were letters, as prose, and I was a bit freaked out because it usually just naturally came out in a more poetic way. It used to feel like the lyrics were a bit more shrouded. But this time it was different. It was coming out much more directly, to the point where I just went with it. While we were making the demos, I’d press record and this rant would just come out for three

minutes and some of the songs emerged that way. No Care was one of those.”

No Care, with its stark recriminations, is a breathless howl: a raw catalogue of self-loathing and sexual humiliation. How (“Goodbye to our empty ruins”) is the post-break up debris in extremis. Made of Stone (“Love is just easing the waiting before dying without company”) squares up the obvious: why do we even bother? “I think I’ve always written from a very personal perspective,” continues Tonra. “Pretty much all of my songs are my personal experience. The first album was very much my voice and was about things from my perspective. There are a couple of songs on this album that are not but, overall, it’s me. I mean, I do think at times, ‘Should I tell everyone that?’ But I also think that being honest about something is the best thing I can do as a writer. It’s really important to not actually be afraid. And maybe there are some lines that even make me go, ‘Ooh, god – why did I say that?’ But I think it’s a good thing. I think it’s a challenging thing and for this album I felt like I wasn’t going to push myself to keep these things in.”

At times, Not to Disappear threatens to overwhelm. Its deep musicality is a thrilling progression but there’s no escape from Tonra’s lyrical purpose and tone. Hopefully, the songs give something back, act as an unburdening. “They do, yes, definitely. The whole reason I started writing in the first place is... I was writing down a lot of things I just couldn’t talk about; things that upset me.

Then could just look at them and think about them in a different way, and I think that it just started off with me writing songs that had no music – just an acapella hymn, if you will. I was doing that when I was a kid, just writing lyrics that no one ever saw, really, ever. I was like ‘This is happening and I’m going to write it down and I’m going to make something positive out of this.’ Whatever it was at that time that was making me not feel positive.

“And so it just carried on, and now it’s just like this weird thing that happens now and again when suddenly my brain will go, ‘Ooh, wait! Idea!’ And that’s when I have to race to capture it. I don’t really have a structure or a plan, which can be quite irri-

MUSIC

Interview: Gary Kaill

tating. I can’t really sit down and force myself to write, which does mean I do go through long stretches where I haven’t written and that’s quite upsetting. But I think, in fairness, when I do, it does feel like a kind of therapy. There are some songs on this album that I wrote in a flash. Doing the Right Thing was ten minutes of me just not even thinking about it and just writing, writing, writing.

Perhaps that’s just a different way of me understanding what I’m thinking about; things that maybe I don’t really address normally in day to day life.

“ Being honest is the best thing I can do as a writer.

It’s important to not be afraid” Elena Tonra

“That’s one song that’s written from someone else’s perspective; it’s basically me looking through my grandmother’s eyes, seeing the world in her way. She has Alzheimer’s and she’s with us and she’s not with us at times, but she’s just such a beautiful human.” Tonra pauses for a moment. “I hope it’s OK that I’ve told you that, by the way.” It explains the skewed viewpoint, for sure. It’s good to know.

“OK, good. I do think that with that song it helps to know what informed the writing. It’s just that sometimes people are like, ‘Tell us what this song’s about!’ and I tell them and they’re like, ‘Oh fuck – is that it?!’”

Not to Disappear is released on 15 Jan via 4AD. Playing Edinburgh Queen’s Hall on 23 Jan ohdaughter.com

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What Next! 2016 in Scottish Contemporary Art C

ontemporary art programmes for 2016 have already started taking shape in both established and recently-opened spaces across the country. Here’s a shortlist of the big events and exhibitions already in the diary for the year ahead in Scotland in contemporary art. Keep an eye on our monthly column and online weekly round-up of art events, published Tuesdays on theskinny. co.uk/art, for updates as more events are announced throughout the year.

Let’s start with the two most anticipated and largest events, the biennial Glasgow International and the quinquennial British Art Show.

For the British Art Show 8 (last seen as BAS 7 in Glasgow in 2010), Edinburgh will host a suite of exhibitions across the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Inverleith House and Talbot Rice Gallery. There’s a split approach to the concept of the contemporary. In the first instance, some artists are making reference to the conditions of digital existence – see for example Alexandre de Cunha and Nicolas Deshayes, whose sculptural practices import mass-produced consumer items without much effacement, as well as industrial materials and processes. Or Charlotte Prodger, who combines videos taken from YouTube with spoken text taken from internet forums and personal emails, and for whom the AV equipment is a vital part of the work.

Also showcased in BAS 8 is Caroline Achaintre. Her exhibited work includes wall-hangings and ceramics. Drawing on traditions of carnival or tribal masks, Achaintre’s work will often have a bare suggestion of two eyes, nostrils or a frowning mouth. There is an intended conversation between the more craft and material-based work of artists like Achaintre, then the digital media work of other exhibitors. As for important dates, British Art Show 8 will take place between 13 February and 8 May 2016.

For 2016’s Glasgow International (GI), there’s a huge list of artists taking part. This makes for an innovative mixing of huge publicly-funded venues like Tramway with – most likely – a few front room galleries around the city. Add to that recent info on Simon Starling’s restaging of WB Yeats’ 1916 play At The Hawk’s Well, inspired by traditional Japanese Noh theatre, with an exhibition of associated material in The Common Guild.

Glasgow gallery Mary Mary will be collaborating with the GI Director’s Programme in Kelvinhall (which is being specially reopened for the occasion) with works by painter Helen Johnson. Some interesting plans for this show have already been shared. In Kelvinhall, Johnson will take her cue from the space’s recognisably 20th century features. From this, she extrapolates ideas of contemporary reading of cultural signifiers. In response, she will hang a series of large-scale paintings on unstretched canvas from the ceiling in the foyer of the Kelvin Hall. In this way, a relationship is made to the various tiled floors, mirrors and chandeliers from the late 1920s. With both sides visible, one shows compositions with mythical and landscape scenes. On the reverse are displayed sketches and notes about her work’s production.

In Mary Mary’s gallery space during GI, and until 28 May, they will exhibit the work of New Yorkbased Emily Mae Smith. In her new paintings, she constructs a network of references to variously recognisable imagery. This includes Fantasia, and the Art Nouveau magazine The Studio. Across the different visual quotations, there is in her work a clever humour, with refinement rubbing against the cartoonish.

Also confirmed in the Mary Mary calendar is their September show, by Milano Chow. Recently, Chow took part in a group show in the space, sho-

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wing drawings that are influenced by the kind of stagey advertisement spaces of, for example, 1950s Tiffany window dresser Gene Moore. They make as much reference to this kind of ‘good taste’ as they do trompe-l’oeil painting and home magazines.

Sharing the same Dixon Street address in Glasgow, early next month Koppe Astner are planning a show by Glasgow-based multidisciplinary artist Corin Sworn, in a group exhibition with fictitious artist Vern Blosum. While Sworn considers the circulation of histories and narratives, the fictional Blosum brings an art-historical obscurity into the mix. In 1961, a MoMA show featured Blosum, whose work was made as a cynical response to the proliferation of pop art by a painter more interested in Clement Greenberg and Jackson Pollock. Simplified imagery with deadpan descriptive text on white backgrounds managed to fetch some buyers and interest from critics.

Following this show in February, Londonbased contemporary artist Matthew Smith will present a solo show in the space. Smith’s practice is concerned with political issues surrounding natural spaces, while questioning the kind of authentic experience that is thought of when speaking of this kind of ‘nature’.

Kope Astner will also be presenting, over three nights, a performance by Leila Hekmat. In previous works, Hekmat has responded to the contemporary associations and manifestations of melancholy. For GI, Hekmat will preview a new work, The French Mistake, with performers coming from around the city.

With GI still in mind, CCA’s programme includes an exhibition from artist/infiltrator Pilvi Takala from 9 April-15 May. For this show, Takala presents ten years’ worth of blending into “communities of poker players in Bangkok, a marketing office in Helsinki, a shopping mall in Ultrecht, or a boarding school in the US.” Using disguise and altering her behaviour, she becomes a part of these different institutions. As a new commission she is working within Glasgow now, and will revisit a performance she did in Garnethill in 2004.

From 28 May-10 July, CCA will then present the third edition of the Jerwood /FVU Awards exhibition, Borrowed Time. This will include two movingimage works from Karen Kramer and Alice May Williams. As the title may suggest, both artists consider the current precarity and obscurity of the global economy of borrowing, whether loans and mortgages or on a larger international scale.

Still in Glasgow, and looking to February, Transmission mount the Scottish Solo Show with new work by Jamie Crewe. For this solo show, Crewe begins with The Balcony, a play by Jean Genet. From this, a new body of work is made which makes reference both to Genet’s text, as well as the incomplete pornographic adaptation by director James Bidgood.

Transmission will then present their GI project, a solo exhibition of Sidsel Meineche Hansen’s work. With an emphasis on the possibility of institutional critique, she looks towards the potential of nervousness in this regard. Her output extends across teaching, writing, printmaking and sculpture, and though working with objects is critical of the operation and circulation of the art market.

Transmission have also recently launched their new website, which will serve also as a platform for new projects. Though taking some time, in response to the complexities of how the gallery is run and what it provides, Struan Barr’s newlybuilt website is now up and running. Its first project has been designed by artist and writer Sarah Tripp, who “proposed a post-it note style insertion which has allowed artist Sian Robinson Davies

ART

Words: Adam Benmakhlouf

Alice Neel,1970

Liz Magor, Companion, 2015

THE SKINNY

Credit: Courtesy of the artist and Marcelle Alix, Paris

Christen your new diary with all the latest plans for the year ahead in Scottish contemporary art. It’s a blockbuster year with exceptional festivals Glasgow International and British Art Show 8 of particular note

Katy Dove, Untitled, 2009

Katie Schwab, Cutlery Tray, Photogram, mountboard, ash frame, 2015

Alisa Baremboym, Leakage Industries Clear Conduit (detail), 2012

Duncan Marquiss, Distressed Inventory, 2011

January 2016

to add footnotes to the ‘about’ text.” This is intended as a yearly project to allow for “an interrogation of the the gallery’s responsibility, history funding, etc.” Continuing digitisation of the gallery’s archive will also be presented through the new website.

Also enjoying the results of a long period of thought and design, Dundee gallery Generator Projects will throughout 2016 begin to put to use their new multifunctional artist hub space, The Collective Space. Keep an eye on the Generator website for news and updates on talks, screenings and workshops in this new space. In February, they will hold the annual members’ show, and then a group show in March. This year also marks an important milestone for the gallery, as they’re celebrating their 20th anniversary.

As well as Generator’s members’ show, in February the Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop (ESW) will present the work recent Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) graduate Amy Boulton has produced in their TANK space. As recipient of this year’s ECA/ESW award, Boulton was provided the resources to continue her digital media enquiries into “the aesthetic and politics of aspirational living and urban regeneration.”

As well as hosting this specific award’s exhibition, the TANK space will be “presenting a curated programme of exhibitions from artists who work with language as a material in a range of forms.”

As well as a venue for the British Art Show 8, further into the year, the Talbot Rice Gallery has planned a show of major 20th century painter Alice Neel from July to October. Known best for her portraits, her career coincided with huge political changes in America. She documented in many paintings trade unionists, socialist writers and other artists around Greenwich Village, an area once known for its radical social politics. Throughout the rest of her life, she painted her neighbours after moving to Spanish Harlem, then later the most influential art personalities in the Upper West Side.

From 20th century American painters, Talbot Rice then shifts to the contemporary and local to home, as Glasgow-based Rob Kennedy receives a solo show in Gallery 1. We reviewed his GI 2012 offering with a healthy five stars, and particularly enjoyed the ping pong table set up not far enough from Walter Sickert’s painting, so it might be expected that Rob Kennedy will have some more fun with his upcoming solo show in October.

Still in Edinburgh, Collective has some of its year planned out so far. During its continuing redevelopment, the gallery has planned a series of off-site projects under the title of Constellations.

In March, Petra Bauer will continue her work which began with mapping political action in Edinburgh.

She will return to Edinburgh to commence a long collaboration with Scot-Pep, who are devoted to the promotion of sex workers’ rights. As part of this relationship, they will together develop enquiries into the political practice of film-making, potentially as a means of documenting the experience of the daily running of the organisation.

The Satellites programme, which supports recent graduates with mentorship and funds to produce work, will showcase this year’s participants in the temporary space near the City Observatory complex (under construction). Still to come is Katie Schwab, with concerns surrounding the domestic interior and craft education. Then there is Mark Bleakley in June, also in receipt of a dance-based bursary, whose work combines film, performance, dance and text. Later in the year, the programme continues with three other recent graduates, including recent Edinburgh College of Art Sculpture graduate Hamish Young. In his medium-conscious work, he takes an interest in the origins, behaviours and commercial circulation of metal and clay.

Katie Schwab will also feature in the New Year exhibit in the Glasgow Sculpture Studios from 9 July until 3 September next year. Before this, between 8 April and 4 June next year, and coinciding with GI, New-York based Alisa Baremboym will exhibit with Canada’s Liz Magor, with consideration of their generational difference and shared medium of sculpture. Their respective practices share a fascination with process, and what might

ART

be learned through the exploration of different materials.

DCA has three large shows planned so far across its year. With more to be announced, keep an eye on the DCA website and Twitter feed. From 27 February until 1 May, they position themselves within the Festival of Architecture, which celebrates the Scottish architectural culture and legacy across different parts of the country. For this, DCA look particularly towards art and architecture that references modernity and nature. They include innovative 20th century Italian landscape photographer Guido Guidi, Glasgow environmental artist and sculptor Martin Boyce and Neville Rae, whose conceptbased practice considers architectural theories and histories, in the past including subjects like new town optimism.

There is then, from 14 May until 3 July an exhibition of the work of Duncan Marquiss. Establishing parallels between discrete disciplines, practices and behaviours, Marquiss’ 2014 piece Search Film makes an analogy between the foraging of field study and shopping. He will also be screening his Margaret Tait Award-winning film during the Glasgow Film Festival 2016 between 17-28 February.

“ Highlights from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee galleries and exhibitions in the year ahead” Rounding off their plans for 2016 so far, DCA will mount a memorial exhibition of the drawings, paintings, prints and animations of Katy Dove (1970-2015) from 17 September-20 November. This exhibition will bring to attention Dove’s rich practice, which combined musical collaboration with dance performance and the moving image. There will also be a major publication on the artist’s work and life.

After installing a brand new permanent sculpture in Jupiter Artland in 2015, this year Sara Barker has been chosen to present a solo exhibition in The Fruitmarket. Originally trained as a painter, there can be painted elements in certain wall-based works. Usually with a deceptively fragile look, Barker’s skinny metal structures cut through space rather than densely occupying it. There is an interest on Barker’s part in personal spaces and the room.

Fruitmarket also has planned two more exhibitions, one of major Mexican artist Damian Ortega. After visiting Edinburgh, Ortega plans to construct an exhibition in close reponse to the city. In his practice, he spans – to name a few – performance, video, sculpture and photography, and frequently pulls apart the recognisable and everyday. In doing so, there’s a consideration of a kind of ‘hidden poetry’ in these otherwiseforgotten-about things.

After Ortega, there is a two-person show of Vivienne Koorland and William Kentridge.

Maker of objects and printmaker Koorland shares an interest with artist-animator Kentridge in a bookish approach to the visual arts and the intersection of African and European or North American references. The two met in art school, and their back-and-forth discussions on art since then have resulted in a 40-year friendship – they have exhibited together in groups shows throughout their career.

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Mercury Rising Derry teenager Bridie MondsWatson has been wowing audiences under the moniker SOAK for years already. We catch up with her on tour in Hong Kong to talk about going global, emotional honesty and plans for 2016 Interview: Finbarr Bermingham

handwritten note dated 29/11/15 graces one side of Bridie Monds-Watson’s notebook. The neat, capped-up entry details her maiden adventures in Asia. “I woke up at 8am in Hong Kong, China (I thought I was in Japan),” she starts, before concluding that “I’m going to eat noodles or something.” Across the page is a comic book sketch of her view from the 31st floor of the building she’s staying in.

When The Skinny meets her in Hong Kong later that morning, diaries are on her mind again.

“I am fucking obsessed with Moleskin diaries. I love that brand, I carry them everywhere. I think I’ve filled about 16 of them on tour,” she says, alluding to the fact that three years of playing the same songs have left her itching to write and play new material.

The very fact that she woke up on this side of the world that morning, however, suggests that she may have to keep playing them for another while yet. Her debut album under her stage name SOAK, Before We Forgot to Dream, was nominated for the Mercury Prize – a fact that leads Bridie to conclude that “life is crazy.” It’s easy to see why the 19-year old may think so.

Handwriting analysts claim that “all-caps writers are uncomfortable talking about their personal lives” and that “they do not want others to know about themselves.” Here might be the exception.

SOAK songs are creations of simplistic intimacy.

On the album, they’re sparse and lovely. They delve into issues of family troubles and sexuality. Songs about teenage isolation aren’t uncommon, but they’re usually not as fully formed and well-written as these. Teenage journals are usually greeted with a cringe. Not the case here.

“It’s not that I have to do it. I like doing it and I enjoy it. I draw a lot and that’s a part of it. I like documenting something that’s not on a computer where it can be erased. It lives. There’s something really great about finishing a book, you know?

Most of the stuff that goes in there is a half-formed idea, the bones of something that I think could be something in the future,” she says, taking to the subject.

Bridie started playing guitar at thirteen, writing songs in her bedroom in time-honoured fashion, before uploading self-recorded videos to YouTube and playing in bands and at open mic nights around Derry. Before she had turned sixteen, SOAK had created a genuine buzz among gig-goers and music bloggers. She came to the attention of A&R folks across the pond and after a few well received EPs, signed to Rough Trade and toured with, amongst others, Chvrches.

Musically, there are echoes of Laura Marling to SOAK’s songs. The poppier moments recall The Concretes, while Bridie’s crisp, accented voice is reminiscent of Lisa O’Neill, one of the finest Irish artists of recent years, and Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura.

Clad in a baggy black t-shirt, black shades and ear-studs, black Doc Martens and myriad tattoos, Monds-Watson speaks in a deadpan Derry twang. She talks glowingly of the sense of com-

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Credit: Josh Halling

A

munity in Derry – a city in which everybody seems to be involved in some project or other. As a student, this writer used to travel to the Maiden City from Belfast to revel in the creativity of others.

A decade ago, the city seemed to be wall to wall art exhibitions, open mic sessions and club nights, with buskers on every corner. It was within this environment that SOAK was born.

“It’s a great place. Generally in Derry, there’s massive support everyone has for each other in terms of anything creative… it’s weird. It’s incredible... sorting people out, even though you don’t know each other. They know you’re doing something and want to help. It’s that whole thing where so much success comes out of such a small place, compared to England or London – it’s so concentrated,” she says.

Playing in bands even before SOAK helped Bridie build connections and assisted her in getting a few early gigs. Local radio got on board, and she kept gigging, dedicating herself to music with the kind of devotion only a teenager could muster. As a creative 14-year old, music offered her not only a way of expressing herself, but a well-traversed rabbit hole into which to pour her obsession.

“I didn’t really have a main hobby before music and that was my thing. When you’re 14 you obsess over things. I started doing that, making things and demoing in my bedroom. I just found all my friends from doing music as well, it was a lot of fun doing gigs,” she recalls.

“I was learning a lot too – reading about music. I’d always be on Wikipedia, having dozens of pages open all the time, reading about music.

It’s such a loser thing to do. But I think it’s cool to be knowledgeable about what came before, a lot of things are just adaptations. Nothing is new technically, depending on how you look at it.

I just like knowing. It’s also a dicky thing – I want to be the person to be able to tell other people about music and bands.”

“ I like documenting something that’s not on a computer where it can be erased. It lives” SOAK

The Dark Side of the Moon tattoo on her arm is testament to her father’s love of Pink Floyd, an appreciation she inherited. Her listening tastes have evolved as she has. Playing with a band on tour has helped her develop musically and most of what she’s writing now is for that format. She says the new songs, some of which are demoed, others of which are etched in among mountains of Moleskins, are “influenced by Sonic Youth.”

“Having played solo for three years, it would be very hard to go back to that,” she explains. “Wor-

MUSIC

king with the band has helped me develop technically and I’ve been learning and reading and listening to so much other stuff over the past few years. I was very young when I wrote those songs, and I still enjoy playing them, but I’m looking forward to a new direction. We’ve definitely got a load of demos for another album. I only feel now that I’ve grown into myself and know myself well enough because you see YouTube videos which are like, shit. And I need to move away from that.”

Most of what Bridie says is accompanied by a self-deprecating laugh. Talking of her excellent sessions on Seattle’s KEXP and NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, she says: “It was quite cool to play, I didn’t realise how big a deal it was until after.” It’s a kind of understatement she takes to the main stage at Hong Kong’s Clockenflap festival later that day. The capacity is 60,000 and a fair portion of those have gathered in the afternoon sun to watch SOAK – a bolstered three piece – play.

Gazing out over the skyscrapers, the docks and the ocean beyond, she seems unflustered.

“This is really cool,” she says, relaxed as you like.

The set presents her debut album in rockier and more experimental form. The performance is workmanlike, professional and very powerful.

“She’s only 19, you know?” someone within earshot tells a friend. It’s remarkable indeed: SOAK and Bridie, the force behind it, is a real talent and someone we should be hearing a lot more from in the years to come.

Before We Forgot How to Dream is out now on Rough Trade.

SOAK plays Field Day, London on 11-12 Jun soakmusic.co.uk

THE SKINNY

The Must-See Films of 2016 Words: Film Team

From The Hateful Eight to the new Ghostbusters, these are the films we're most looking forward to in 2016 The Hateful Eight

(Quentin Tarantino, 8 Jan) Quentin Tarantino’s flashy personal style and quotable dialogue mark him out as the perfect auteur for film fans beginning to explore cinema’s possibilities. Don’t let his accessibility fool you, though; at his best (Death Proof), Tarantino’s exhilarating genre homages are precision-engineered, intelligent and even progressive. [Tom Grieve]

Creed

(Ryan Coogler, 15 Jan) Michael B Jordan as the Human Torch in a film directed by Josh Trank seemed like a really great idea. It did not work. Michael B Jordan as Apollo Creed’s son in a Rocky sequel seemed kinda dumb and very strange. Going from the media buzz since the film’s US release, it worked really well.

[Ross McIndoe]

Deadpool

(Tim Miller, 4 Feb) Gird your loins, folks! “The merc with a mouth” is on his way to spice up your stagnating relationship with the superhero genre courtesy of his own brand of fast-talking, bullet-strewn, cancerriddled, chimichanga-loving, fourth-wall-breaking masked mayhem. Things are about to get a little freaky. [Ben Nicholson]

Goosebumps

(Rob Letterman, 5 Feb) A bunch of teens accidentally unleash the monsters from the Goosebumps canon and have to help Goosebumps author RL Stine (played by Jack Black) squish them back into his manuscripts before they destroy town. The trailer gives off a pleasing Joe Dante vibe and we can’t wait to see Black back in School of Rock mode bickering with minors.

[Jamie Dunn]

Bone Tomahawk

(S Craig Zahler, 19 Feb) The presence of Kurt Russell might lead one to expect a B-movie brashness to western Bone Tomahawk, but it’s actually a much more sober and grim experience. Think The Searchers. With added cannibals. Still, there’s Kurt’s magnificent facial hair to gaze upon for comfort, and warm support from the incomparable Richard Jenkins.

[Chris Fyvie]

Hail, Caesar!

(Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, 26 Feb) It’s been far too long since the Coen Brothers have gone full screwball, but the upcoming Hail, Caesar!, a 1950s-set Hollywood satire resembling a mash-up of Barton Fink and a light-hearted MGM Technicolor budget-buster, has the potential to be their screwiest screwball yet. Keep those most excellent Coen comedy tropes coming, guys. We’ll bite. [Michellel Devereaux]

Goodnight Mommy

(Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala, 4 Mar) This Austrian thriller has been winning praise ever since its late-2014 festival debut. It sees twin boys come to grips with both a new home and their mother’s face-altering cosmetic surgery. Is this really their mother? And can those who scheduled this for release on the weekend of Mother’s Day please get a raise? [Josh Slater-Williams]

Anomalisa

(Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson, 11 Mar) Charlie Kaufman finally makes a follow-up to 2008’s mind-bending Synecdoche, New York, and apparently it’s a doozy. Anomalisa, a grown-up stopmotion fable about a misanthropic, Kaufmanesque loner, has been heralded as one of the best films of the year. Hopefully that means we won’t have to wait another seven-plus years to get his next one.

[MD]

High-Rise

(Ben Wheatley, 18 Mar) With his last few films, Ben Wheatley has proven himself an expert in twisting British sensibilities into varyingly bizarre genre fare. Who better, then, to bring to the screen the blood-letting and nihilism of JG Ballard’s tower-block novel? Hiddleston, Evans and Irons look perfect for atavistic class warfare. [BN]

The Club

(Pablo Larraín, 25 Mar) Following the cross-over success of the Gael García Bernal-starring No, Chilean director Pablo Larraín has finally laid to rest the cinematic ghost of Augusto Pinochet. Now his attention shifts to a fierce and complex present-day parable about guilt, sin and the machinations of the Catholic Church. [BN]

Victoria

Midnight Special

(Jeff Nichols, 15 Apr) This tale about a boy with unusual abilities being pursued by religious sects and government forces alike has been described by its director as a “sci-fi chase film.” With John Carpenter cited as an influence and Nichols’ unique feel for the texture of life in rural America perfectly suited to a road movie, it looks an enticing prospect. [Michael Jaconelli]

Son of Saul

(László Nemes, 29 Apr) One might think that given the breadth of its cinematic treatment, the Holocaust may not be the most fertile ground for staggeringly bold and original new filmmaking, but if the rave reviews coming from Cannes were anything to go by, László Nemes’ Grand Prix-winner is exactly that. [BN]

X-Men: Apocalypse

(Sebastian Schipper, 1 Apr) Like a burst of pure adrenaline, Sebastian Schipper’s Berlin-set heist movie is an enthralling journey through the entire spectrum of human emotions. Filmed in one take, without any digital trickery or subterfuge, this two-hour homage to Bonnie and Clyde condenses the whole of human experience into 134 minutes of high-octane cinema. [PG]

(Bryan Singer, 19 May) The X-Men have survived an obsessive need to make Hugh Jackman the centre of almost every film, a spin-off so bad that it had to be more or less silently removed from the canon, and the acting of Vinnie Jones. He might be semi-immortal and devastatingly powerful, but I still don’t like Apocalypse’s odds. [RM]

Nasty Baby

(Shane Black, 3 Jun) The stellar financial success of Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 writing-directing gig has given the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang man free rein to make the Shane Black-iest film ever. Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling headline this 1970s conspiracy comedy set in seedy Los Angeles, and the first trailer is uproarious. [JS-W]

(Sebastián Silva, 8 Apr) Sebastián Silva’s self-reflective dissection of Brooklyn’s bohemian settlers is destined to divide audiences. Starring alongside TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe and Kristen Wiig, Silva’s deep understanding of the indiscernible tensions middle-class regeneration produces allows this socially conscious thriller to undertake a sinister, yet uncomfortably plausible tonal shift. [PG]

The Nice Guys

Ghostbusters

(Paul Feig, 15 Jul) Who you gonna call if you’re after a female-led comedy that subverts genre conventions with sly wit and downright hilarity? It’s Paul Feig. The Spy and The Heat director is teaming up again with Bridesmaids' Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig (alongside SNL cast Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones) for Feig’s reboot of this 80s classic, which is sure to be this summer’s funniest blockbuster. [PG]

Also upcoming in 2016…

Keep an eye out for these films (release dates TBC): Certain Women (Kelly Reichardt): America’s finest indie filmmaker is back with a film about three women whose lives intersect in small-town America.

Knight of Cups (Terrence Malick): Malick fans will hope for more like The Tree of Life from the now oddly prolific, reclusive maverick, as debauched screenwriter Christian Bale finds his soul...

The Lost City of Z (James Gray): The perennially underrated, classically inclined filmmaker makes a foray into both biopic and adventure cinema with this portrait of legendary British explorer Percy Fawcett.

Love and Friendship (Whit Stillman): The DNA of Jane Austen’s prickly world runs through all of Whit Stillman’s comedies of manners, so it was only a matter of time before a full-blooded adaptation.

Goodnight Mommy

January 2016

FILM

For year-round coverage of the best independent cinema, big releases and more, check theskinny.co.uk/film

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Return of a Firebrand Rapper, poet, actor and agitator Saul Williams talks about the fire and music that inspired his first record in four years Interview: Finbarr Bermingham

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aul Williams is relaxed, sitting patiently on a white armchair. The only giveaway sign that he has just played a blistering set of songs taken from his brilliant new album is his darting, alert eyes, which suggest that he would hate to miss something important. “Finbarr. Fin-barr,” he ruminates after a brief introduction. “Is that one word, or two?” It’s a line of questioning he returns to a few minutes later (“Where does that come from?”), despite best efforts to shuffle the conversation towards something more significant, and he can be heard mouthing “Finbarr” repeatedly after our interview is complete.

It adds to the impression that, for Williams the artist, the world is his canvas, with every new sight and sound a potential ingredient in whatever he happens to be creating, or thinking about creating. Right now, his creation is MartyrLoserKing (MLK), a cross-format project combining an excellent album, a graphic novel in collaboration with renowned comic book artist Ron Wimberly, and a movie – all of which will be unleashed simultaneously. Like everything Williams has done in his career, it’s hugely ambitious.

Williams first came to prominence in the mid-90s as a slam poet, becoming the Grand Slam Champion at the Nuyorican Poets Café, an institution in the arts community of New York’s Lower East Side. The documentary SlamNation followed his Slam team’s progress in the National Poetry Slam in Portland in 1996 and Williams’ star as a poet rose further when he wrote and acted in the award-winning Slam in 1998.

It was around this time that the chameleonic New Yorker started making serious strides in the music business. A series of high-profile collaborations, appearing with everyone from De La Soul and Allen Ginsberg to Nas and Rage Against the Machine, and a string of EPs preceded the 2001 release of Amethyst Rock Star, a restless, proggy, breakneck set recorded with Rick Rubin – a marriage of poetry and industry that has transcended much of Williams’ recorded output since.

The following self-titled set of 2004 announced Williams the agitator on an expectant music world. Taking aim at the US-led invasion of Iraq, the state of contemporary hip-hop (“This shit has gone too far… stop!”) and high school bullies, this was a window into his conscience that set the scene for what is – arguably – his magnum opus: The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust, three years later.

Niggy… was a pay-what-you-like release recorded with Trent Reznor (who revealed post-release that only 18% of downloaders paid anything). It bristled with ambition and frustration and presented Williams as a firebrand par excellence, railing against the establishment, challenging our perceptions of freedom and raising serious questions about black identity in 21st-century America, all while Kanye was rounding off his tetralogy of ‘education’ albums.

While 2011’s Volcanic Sunlight was a selfconfessed “dance album” and one “about love,” MLK – his first release for four years – reacquaints us with Williams as a malcontent. The middle finger that graces the artwork sets the tone for a concept project about the eponymous hacker from Burundi. The choice of protagonist was very deliberate: Burundi has been in the grip of conflict

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since the early 1990s. Williams’ suggestion that a hacker packing as much punch as Snowden and Banksy combined could emerge from such an environment is a commentary on how the internet has changed the game, but is also set to challenge the listener’s preconceptions. This was the premise under which the project was conceived.

“I wanted to create a world in which things are challenged,” he says. “Musically it came about from the type of stuff I was listening to. I was listening to a lot of real electronic music coming out of Congo, Angola and Mozambique. Not necessarily the pop stuff but the underground stuff I could get my hands on. I started playing with this album about two years ago sonically, trying to create a world. A world, being a soundscape. Sonically, it’s been really fun, exploring the music that I was loving at that time.”

For a man so draped in creativity, it is natural that the art forms will collide. A serial collaborator, on MLK the walls between his media have – and he says it was initially set to be a stage musical.

“One of the things I wanted to do was create a project that has all of these things combined.

I started to think of the idea of a musical, a story, a concept, a premise… a place where music and performance could all intertwine. It started with a play idea, it’s moved to a film idea, but yes, it’s definitely about all those things, a way to bring those things together. But also the story, primarily because there was a lot of stuff I wanted to talk about. I couldn’t choose one topic,” Williams explains.

“ I wanted to create a world in which things are challenged” Saul Williams

The topics are indeed plentiful, and they’re often angry and visceral – a feeling that’s enhanced enormously by seeing him play the songs live.

The whole idea of conflict and of protest has changed in 2016. Contrary to the previous century, in which revolutions had clear leaders and battles were drawn across clear lines, with physical limits and parameters, the lines are more subversive now. The Arab Spring was propelled by Twitter.

The Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong was organised by a few students over Telegram, while the establishment attacks with unmanned drones and cyber hacks.

War and its byproducts have transcended visibility. In the aftermath of the Paris attacks, the aphorism “you can’t bomb an idea” emerged on social media in regard to the militaristic response.

On Burundi, the excellent single that precedes MLK, Williams roars: “I’m a candle, I’m a candle / Chop my neck a million times, I still burn bright and stand, yo.” It’s a powerful chorus line and hammers home the ferocity of the themes on board.

“Yeah, I realised tonight when going through some of the songs that I kept on hitting the nail in

terms of topic,” he says, after performing for one of the few times in his career in the asia continent “I was like: ‘Oh fuck, there’s really no break.’ I don’t know if that’s good or not good. It’s definitely very personal and it’s intimate. It’s for the public, obviously. With good speakers, it’s actually really big. I like how it sounds.

I wanna hear it. I think anyone who has a chance to encounter it, encounters something. I feel like music and poetry, art in itself, always has this edge when it comes to translation. Like paintings for example. I think of music very much like paintings, with sounds. I think those things transcend language barriers.”

It’s unsurprising to hear that a follow-up album is already demoed. The themes explored here aren’t going anywhere. At the time of writing, Donald Trump has just called for Muslims to be refused entry to the USA, and France is leading a

MUSIC

coalition of airstrikes in Syria.

For Williams, the album and what spawned it is a moveable feast.

“Yeah, this isn’t going anywhere and when they do move, shake or tremble it only brings more life to the idea. You can hear it in the music – I’m way more patient with how these things unfold. I like Leonard Cohen for example. If you listen to his most recent album, his songs are simply moving togewther sometimes, it’s such a graceful practice, but I think it also comes to patience. It comes from your experience but you also have to yearn for it. MLK is more like a title or a brand, there’s a lot.

A lot of ideas are very interesting if you follow them through. When the imagination is involved, playing with those ideas, there’s definitely great work that comes out of that as an artist.”

MartyrLoserKing is released on 29 Jan on FADER Label

THE SKINNY

Slow and Steady Chicago’s long-standing instrumental heroes Tortoise return with The Catastrophist, their first record in seven years – John McEntire tells us about getting lost in a world of their own making

Credit: Andrew Paynter

Interview: Will Fitzpatrick

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t’s entirely in keeping with our chat with John McEntire that he should barely even notice his own bon mots. Even after more than 20 years of carving out a thoroughly idiosyncratic niche with Chicago experimentalists Tortoise, it seems clear from our Skype call that his knack for conversation remains outweighed by a capability to sculpt remarkable sonic masterpieces alongside his four bandmates (to wit: Doug McCombs, Jeff Parker, John Herndon and Dan Bitney). In plainer English: this particularly talented musician and producer speaks music as his primary language. He doesn’t often elaborate, which – despite his pleasant, polite demeanour – doesn’t exactly make for a free-flowing exchange.

Still, when he’s right, he’s right. We’re discussing their approach to songwriting and genredabbling – a key component for a band who managed to fuse elements of dub, krautrock and jazz into an ostensible rock band format, sprinkled with electronics in the manner of a logistical puzzle – when McEntire casually remarks, “Maybe there’s an occasional reference to something in the real world.”

That sound you just heard was a nail being smacked soundly on the head, because this is the perfect summary of the Tortoise experience. All bands create their own worlds – at least, those worth listening to – but the best ones completely immerse you in a reality of their own making. The Catastrophist, the forthcoming seventh record by the group in question, is the latest evolution of their world, and it’s as perfectly absorbing an album as they’ve ever made. Naturally, the down-to-earth McEntire laughs when we ask whether notions of ‘the real world’ are how he considers the difference between his band and everyone else.

“I guess so!” he chuckles. “When you’re in the middle of working on something it can tend to feel pretty isolating. There’s all this stuff out there that’s tangible and concrete, and you’re in this place that is kind of unknown, trying to figure out where to go.”

Their destination in this instance was originally determined by the City of Chicago, who in 2010 commissioned the band to compose a suite of new music with nods to jazz and improv – two styles firmly entwined with the locale’s rich history.

“The city does a lot of things like that,” McEntire says. “They have some really great programmers.

It was an attempt to bring together some disparate elements of the musical communities here,

January 2016

and it was a really excellent experience.

"We had done things kind of like that before, but were never asked to write specifically for something, so it was an interesting challenge. I think it still retained the identity of the band.”

Later on, when the quintet reconvened with the plan of writing and recording a new album, the resultant compositions proved an excellent jumping-off point.

“That was never the intention,” he explains, “but when we decided that we wanted to start recording, we knew we had that material that we could work from, so that was what we started with.”

There’s a certain irony in Chicago providing a spot for inspiration for the band’s new material; after all, they originated in the city’s forwardminded indie scene in the early 90s, emerging alongside the disparate likes of Gastr del Sol and The Sea And Cake (both of whom have featured the ever-busy McEntire in their line–ups), with bands often sharing influence despite rarely sounding much alike. Location, however, doesn’t appear to be a factor here: “It used to be pretty important,” he remarks, when quizzed about the city’s importance to Tortoise. “Much less so now, I think. In the early days there was a lot happening here, it was really inspiring. That’s probably still true, but all of our circumstances have changed; people have families now so it’s a little bit different for us.”

Meanwhile, The Catastrophist displays the sound of five musicians lost entirely to their work; an expansive and perhaps more melodic assemblage than their previous albums, from the opening title track’s triumphant synth flourishes (think Masamo Nakamura’s Sonic The Hedgehog soundtracks welded to a murky, minimalist groove and you’re halfway there) to the clipped, cold funk of Hot Coffee. You’d be hard-pressed to play any of this record to a newcomer alongside seminal previous efforts such as Millions Now Living Will Never Die or TNT and have them immediately believe it all to be rooted at the same source. There’s been a slow evolution in their oeuvre since those early days, and it’s tempting to assume that there’s a determination within their collective mindset to react against whatever they’ve done previously.

McEntire pauses thoughtfully at this suggestion.

“Uh, I wouldn’t say ‘react’, but it’s always there, you know, it’s something that we think about.

We’re pretty conscious of not wanting to repeat ideas or themes or sounds, so it’s always a bit of

a challenge in that sense. We’re always faced with the concept of creating something pretty new and fresh for us.”

How so?

“It wasn’t anything specific. I mean, I don’t think we set any parameters for this one in particular, which may or may not have been a good thing. It seems like if you have a few restrictions that actually helps you get the work done faster.”

Sticking to our belief that we’re better than cheap gags about working at tortoise pace, we observe that this new absence of parameters is most evident in two particular tracks: Yonder Blue and a cover of David Essex’s Rock On mark the previously-unthinkable debut of vocals on a Tortoise album. That’s not to say they’ve not worked with singers before – in 2006 they released The Brave And The Bold, a collaborative covers LP with Will Oldham’s Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy persona – but even so, this is the first time that such a thing has occurred on one of their own records.

“ It can be easy to get lost a little bit.

But we always find our way” John McEntire

Rock On is an especially unusual choice: a standout on Essex’s schizoid debut album from 1973, long before the schmaltz of Winter’s Tale came to define his later career. Skeletal, tense and brittle, its reverb-laden malevolence makes ‘rocking on’ sound grim rather than hedonistic – an undertone made even more apparent thanks to the skulking presence of US Maple’s Todd Rittman on this surprisingly faithful cover.

“We just always loved the original version,” McEntire explains, “and in some ways it maybe reminded us of when we were super-minimalist, just bass and drums, in the very early days. I’ve always really loved the production of the original.”

He denies David Essex fandom (“Don’t know anything else actually!”) and offers little in terms of reasoning for choosing Rittman (“We went through a long list of people… it was probably Doug

MUSIC

came up with the idea; it seemed like a perfect fit”) but regardless, the noise rock veteran’s scintillating delivery almost certainly provides its own justification.

Similarly, the album’s other guest spot comes courtesy of Yo La Tengo’s Georgia Hubley, whose typically breathy sighs add an irresistible warmth to the song’s woozey tranquillity. It’s testament to the performances from both band and vocalist that it sounds like it could have been composed by either camp (“I think we were fortunate to strike that balance,” McEntire concludes).

With these new considerations in mind, we ask McEntire how he would choose to describe the record. He takes a deep breath. “It’s mostly instrumental. Kind of standard rock band format, with keyboards and some other instruments.

I dunno, I’m not good at that kind of stuff.”

Defining Tortoise is a challenge that has beaten many over the years, of course – ‘postrock’ is a tag that comes up often, but the band remain resistant to it, and in any case, it seems a redundant concept in 2016. No longer a loose term summarising bands using the ‘standard rock band format’ to create futurist sounds that were very definitely not rock, it now seems a catch-all phrase for a certain type of formulaic, instrumental indie, which would do a disservice to the length and breadth of our heroes’ eclectic frame of influence.

“At a certain point, we decided that everything was fair game,” he summarises. “There was no reason to consider anything to be stigmatised.

It’s kind of liberating, you know, ‘cause it gives you the ability to take risks with things that to other artists would seem off-limits.”

Did it feel more or less natural, with that in mind, to approach songs with a more ‘traditional’ structure, à la the Hubley/Rittman contributions?

“I don’t know if natural’s the right word, but you’re dealing with a language that’s established.

There’s parameters that you can move around in pretty freely, and know that something’s gonna work.”

To continue that analogy, do Tortoise generally trying to push the boundaries of that language?

“Maybe… we start from a total blank canvas, and it can be easy to get lost a little bit. But we always find our way eventually.”

The Catastrophist is released on 22 Jan via Thrill Jockey.

Tortoise play Field Day on 2 Jun facebook.com/TRTSband

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THE SKINNY

The First Timers First time Manipulate performers Blind Summit, Sita Pieraccini, and Julian Crouch and Saskia Lane talk homecomings and what we can expect to see from their shows at Manipulate 2016

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cotland, and Edinburgh in particular, may be known for its festivals, but some are more niche than others. If your first thought for theatre is August, then you’re missing eight months of fantastic productions, and it all starts here in January with The Skinny’s favourite puppeteers, Manipulate.

Now in their ninth year, this festival (spanning Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Norwich) covers all things puppetry and animation, as well as physical theatre, live foley artists and dance. To have a home for art forms less evident in the mainstream – in our very own capital, bringing in some of the best homegrown and international artists yearly to Scotland – is a great start to the cultural year.

While artists and audience members alike return to the festival every year, The Skinny caught up with some of the first timers in this year’s crop of performers, to see what they were looking forward to and what audiences new and old could expect.

For Stephanie Wickes, executive producer on theatre company Blind Summit, Manipulate feels almost like a homecoming for their show: “The show’s been all over the world in the past four years but it premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe festival in 2011. It’s really great to bring it back to Scotland, and specifically to Edinburgh where it was premiered five years ago. We’re coming back with the original cast, so it’s very exciting to be coming back with those three as the co-creators of the show as well.”

The show itself is The Table and its central star is Moses. “The Table was born from a commission by the Jewish Community Centre in London, which is now the JW3. They came to Blind Summit about doing a show based on the Seder, which is a Jewish tradition, whereby they relive the story of the travel to the promised land. However they leave Moses out of the story. We decided to explore the idea of table top puppetry and Moses was born from that; from this idea that Moses is a sort of vain character who wants to be a performer, he’s sick of being a puppet in children’s shows and he wants to be a serious performer, he wants to perform the role of Moses; however he gets quite anxious about it and digresses from the point quite often.”

In addition to retelling an ancient Jewish story, The Table also aims to change people’s perceptions of what a puppet show might be. “I don’t think people come with a huge amount of expectation about what the show is but they all tend to leave having enjoyed it,” Wickes jokes. To say that Blind Summit are the people behind the 90 foot Lord Voldemort at the Olympic open ceremony must pique audience interest, though Moses is a much smaller creation with a nuanced story to tell.

Also feeling some kind of return to home are Saskia Lane and Julian Crouch, the artists behind Birdheart. “This is very different for me because I don’t think Simon from Manipulate knew this when he approached me but I was brought up in

Birdheart

January 2016

The Table

Scotland so I played in my first band in Aberdeen and I was a student in Edinburgh, Crouch tells us.

“Just after that we go to San Francisco where Saskia was brought up. I think it’s the kind of show that doesn’t really make any difference where you do it because it’s not verbal, it’s the kind of show that’s universal, it’s about transformation and loneliness and identity. I would say doing the show anyway is like coming home for me but literally I’m going home to do it and the following month I’m going to her home.”

“The land of hippie meditation,” Lane interjects. “The show probably is part San Francisco, part Scotland. The jokes are probably more Scottish and the meditation more San Francisco.”

Meditation is important to Birdheart not necessarily as a theme but a feeling it creates, so much so that next September it will be performed for the Dalai Lama. “It feels like a meditation to doBirdheartandthere’ssomethingthatistotallycentring about it that removes all of my worries. The whole world kind of falls away,” says Lane.

“Because it’s only paper the audience’s imagination becomes a big part of the show. The audience are working as hard as we’re working on stage, sometimes harder. Part of it is like a group meditation,” explains Crouch, “except there are a few jokes in there as well.”

So what is the concept behind Birdheart?

“The idea came... the little seed began about three years ago when we found some beautiful images of these albatross birds that Christopher Jordan took, and basically they were birds that had died from eating plastic in the ocean. There’s a whole story around that, obviously an environmental one, but they were just incredibly beautiful. The photos looked almost black and white with colour inserted because the birds were very grey and on the inside, in the heart of the bird – in the stomach of the bird – were these plastic bits like a lighter or a shoe from a doll,” Lane describes.

Beyond these haunting images were two inciting factors: the desire to do a show together on a small scale, one which they could to tour; and paper. Crouch explains the idea: “To try and do a whole show with one sheet of paper. So Birdheart is a show with a box with some sand in it, and pretty much one piece of paper that then lifts out other bits, like heads and hands. So the sheet of paper transforms into different creatures. It’s like the paper is the soul in some ways

THEATRE

and it takes on different identities.”

Such an intricate piece of work finds a great home at Manipulate. It demonstrates this variety of work that the similarly titled Bird, by Sita Pieraccini, takes a much-different form, although it too touches lightly on environmental issues, of a more dystopian nature. “It’s a solo show with dark, clown elements and the underlying themes of struggle for survival, but also that slightly basic need for greed. I’m very influenced by the way we’re destroying the plant constantly with all this stuff going on in the environment, and we’re still consuming. Everything’s been consumed and the character is supposed to be the last person alive, looking for food. But in the middle of that she meets this passing songbird. It means more to her than just food, it’s a friend,” Pieraccini explains. “What’s the balance between company and food? What takes over?”

“ The audience are working as hard as we’re working on stage, sometimes harder” Julian Crouch

Although this is her first time working with Manipulate, her second show Make A Hoo has already been booked for 2017. “They’ve been super supportive and I’m really excited that they’re embracing the work,” she says. “ It feels like a home for the piece and I’m just happy that it's been taken on.” To see young and emerging artists like Pieraccini alongside huge companies like Blind Summit, and the successful and varied careers of Crouch and Lane, is an exciting example of the inclusive nature of Manipulate’s programming. Each show is unique and yet each has found its home at this festival.

Manipulate Festival, 29 Jan-6 Feb, various locations and times manipulatefestival.org

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Credit: Lorna Palmer

Interview: Emma Ainley-Walker

Lifelong Learning It’s time to learn something new, and there are many, many opportunities to do so all across the country. Try a new language, make jewellery, or find out exactly what Jahrobics is

On our Radar for 2016 Taking a loose and healthy approach to nationhood, we look forward to the Scottish books being served up in the coming months. New novels from big hitters Irvine Welsh and James Kelman, challenging sophomore works, award-winning debuts and hidden gems

Words: Adam Benmakhlouf

Words: Alan Bett

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Vanilla Ink Studio

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appy new year, all you lifelong learners. It’s a new year, and promises come of a new you, too. How does this come about? Evening and weekend classes are a material, straightforward way to make yourself much more interesting and therefore attractive to yourself and others.

Go back to uni If you’re looking for range and value for money, there are many, many leisure to intermediate to vocational courses at City of Glasgow College, as well as Strathclyde University nearby. From fine art ceramics, to language classes or introduction to web design and web authoring, there’s a fine range. Running for up to 15 weeks, this also brings the average cost per class below most other places.

There’s more of an academic slant to the short courses offered by Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow University. A few of the broad subject headings include Philosophy, Literature, Science, History of Art, some practical art courses and Film Studies.

Learn printmaking Scotland is currently enjoying a strong printmaking culture, evidenced by plenty of opportunities to learn printmaking techniques, whether etching, lithography or screenprinting. With a history steeped in the democratisation of the original artwork and radical political publications, printmaking’s based on being able to make repeats from inked up metal plates, or pushed through screens with a stencil on them.

If you like making art in a collective and mutually educational environment, head to one of the printmaking studios across the country, whether it’s Edinburgh Printmakers, Glasgow Print Studio, Dundee Contemporary Arts, Highland Print Studio (Inverness) or Peacock Visual Arts (Aberdeen).

Study dance Otherwise, for the movers and shakers there are Jahrobics in Glasgow, every Monday night in the Art School Union. This one’s delivered by the dance collective Glasgow Open Dance Studio, or the G.O.D.S. for short. Every week from 6.15-7.15pm they break down dance routines inspired by a mixup of different dance traditions from around the

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world. Highly recommended for people that like health but would prefer to laugh loads than commit to humourless gym visits.

Become a photographer For the budding photography enthusiast, see Stills in Edinburgh or the Glasgow Print Studio. Both have evening and weekend classes covering all things photography-related, from cutting edge digital techniques to old school analogue.

Learn to sculpt Between Glasgow Sculpture Studios and Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, a huge range of different modelling, casting and craft techniques are being taught. Usually presented by practising artists, these classes provide a lively and informed introduction not just to the technique, but all the creative possibilities of the medium in question. These tend to have shorter, more intensive runs, so are ideal for anyone who can’t commit to too many evenings.

Become a jeweller Or maybe you like especially well-made things, or would like to make a gift that’s got some technical knowhow behind it. Try Vanilla Ink or Process Studios for jewellery making, more design-oriented printing, enamelling and glass workshops. Most of these classes are oversubscribed, so make sure to keep an eye on the class lists being released if the one you’re interested in has sold out.

Learn a language And last but not least, if you’d like to no longer be an example of the clichéd loudmouthed pointing Brit abroad, there are language classes. Part of an international network of Goethe Instituts, in Park Circus in Glasgow this institution offers a range of German language and culture courses. For similar in Edinburgh, there are the French and Italian Institutes.

Maybe you’ll learn to conjugate irregular verbs, how to pickle an egg, or it could just be the start of a brand new lifelong pursuit. But most of all, enjoy having a substantial answer to, “What you been up to lately?”

See the individual websites of mentioned venues for further details

et’s open with a titan. James Kelman, the Booker Prize botherer and master of formalism is set to have his new novel Dirt Road (Canongate) published in August. The story tells of a ‘journey out of darkness’ which follows father and son Tom and Murdo on an expedition that takes them from their Scottish island home to the American South, after the tragic death of Murdo’s mother. The new work of one of the most important writers currently working should be a publishing date set on literary calenders the world over.

In April, a good son of Edinburgh resurrects a bad seed. Franco Begbie – or Jim Francis as he identifies himself for his new artist’s life on America’s West Coast – returns to Irvine Welsh’s pages for new novel The Blade Artist (Jonathan Cape). It seems to be a tale inspired by Jimmy Boyle, one which could spill over into bloody violence and possibly high hilarity at any point. In a year when filming begins on Danny Boyle’s sequel of sorts to Trainspotting, it seems perfect timing to revisit its most visceral force.

Jenni Fagan’s long awaited sophomore novel The Sunlight Pilgrims (William Heinemann) hits bookshelves in February. Following up her formidable debut The Panopticon must be a nervy process, but a pitfall which a writer of this talent, heart and vision should nonchalantly stride past.

Set in a time when it is snowing in Jerusalem, the Thames is overflowing, and an iceberg separated from the Fjords in Norway is expected to arrive off the coast of Scotland, this may be an environmental apocalypse novel for the current age.

Yet, true to Fagan’s form, expect something even more complex, angry, political and human.

Further novels of note come from our more local Scottish presses: always taking risks, always punching above their weight. Freight Books will introduce the 2015 Dundee International Literary Prize winner to readers by publishing Martin Cathcart Froden’s novel Devil Take the Hindmost in March, a thriller centred around velodrome racing and the criminal underworld of 1920s London. There is also huge expectation around Neil Mackay’s historical novel The Wolf Trial (also Freight/March). If the premise of a 16th century serial killer being tried as a werewolf is not gruesomely intriguing enough, the comparison to ‘The Name of the Rose meets American Psycho’ should whet bloodthirsty appetites even further.

There is further excitement around the debut short story collection Treats from Manchesterbased writer Lara Williams (Freight/March) – in fact there has been raving. It is described as a break-up album of tales covering relationships and their aftermath. So far, so Adele – but if the inescapable singer is the beige paint on a crumbling wall, this is more akin to sniffing that paint and seeing every colour in the rainbow.

After the huge critical lauding of his novel The Book of Death and Fish, Ian Stephen justifies the first claim of his ‘poet, writer, sailor’ designation with new collection Maritime (Saraband/ April). These lyrical works evoke the dramatic waterscapes, rocky shores and wind-blasted tex-

ART / BOOKS

tures of his native Hebrides. It’s a collection that, as Kirsty Gunn claims, “splits the form open like a fresh catch, glistening and raw and singing with the sea.”

The Scottish publisher Saraband is also publishing the translation of a Dutch novel of greed, lust and the battle for women’s bodies. A fictional thriller based in fact, The Hormone Factory (March)

by Saskia Goldschmidt looks at a pre-WWII Dutch pharmaceutical entrepreneur determined to develop the contraceptive pill, no matter what the cost, testing hormonal treatments on his female workers and sexually exploiting them. This is historical fiction which will resonate deeply with issues facing women across the globe today.

Lauren A. Forry was PA to Zooey Deschanel on The Happening – that being an M. Night Shyamalan movie, she’s obviously well versed in nightmares. Perfect grounding then for her gothic thriller Abigale Hall (Black & White/February). Set in the late 1940s, two orphan sisters are sent from their home in London to a remote part of Wales to work at a crumbling estate run by the vicious and cold-hearted Mrs Pollard. The house begins to take its toll on Rebecca, who slowly descends into her own twisted world of madness. This debut novel of the Faber & Faber Creative Writing MA prize winner, touted as Daphne Du Maurier meets Hitchcock, is one to watch.

“ There is excitement around the debut short story collection Treats from Lara Williams, in fact there has been raving” Granta usually get it right with their Best of Young Novelists predictions. So with one of their British batch, Tahmim Anam, having her new novel published in May, it’s reason to take an interest.

An epic love story, The Bones of Grace (Canongate) follows the thwarted passions of Zubaida Bashir for Elijah Strong, a man from whom she cannot bear to be separated and yet cannot face the consequences of what a life together would mean.

To conclude this list, and his recent trilogy of subject-related collections, we have Charles Bukowski musing On Love (Canongate/Feb). The Skinny has delighted in the two previous parts, On Writing and the fantastic feline-based prose of On Cats. We look forward to his unique take on the indefinable.

All listed books will be available at your usual bookshops.

Many can be pre-ordered from their publishers websites.

THE SKINNY

Projecting Pages Taking books to the screen has long made up much of the film industry’s output. We look at the creative issues involved in the process, and then onto some of the most interesting recent and upcoming literary adaptations

I

t could be argued that The Shining’s most terrifying moment came 32 years after its original release in Room 237, a 2012 documentary which pondered conspiracy theories in relation to Kubrick’s film – these range from accusations of moon landing fakery, to war, genocide and holocaust. When Kubrick’s wife Christiane denied the Apollo theory she was informed that this decision was no longer the filmmaker’s to make. The ownership of meaning is fleeting; once a creative work exists within the public domain it becomes whatever the consumer wishes it to be. “That is the nature of the tragedy,” suggests Harlan Ellison, the legendary curmudgeon of genre fiction, in his introduction to the classic short story collection Strange Wine. “The work is mine only when it is being done.

Thereafter it must be remanded to the custody of the readers.”

Imagine when that custodian is the film industry, transforming the printed word into a whole new technicolor format. It’s a situation all the more common in an increasingly risk-averse Hollywood, where most of our multiplex offerings originate.

It is a film industry obsessed with sequels, adaptations and ready-made audiences. Taking literature to the screen historically makes up around a third of Hollywood’s output, a fraction which looks set to increase. These encompass everything from old classics (Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd) to more modern classics (Patricia Highsmith’s Carol), and some, well, less so (50 Shades and its planned 2017 sequel).

Browse a list of movies released in 2015 or scheduled for 2016 and you’ll find that entirely original works have become almost a curio in mainstream cinema.

Author Stephen King rejected Kubrick’s Shining, seeming to understand before any other that Stanley simply used his work as a frame to hang techniques of subliminal messaging, gleaned from the wonderful world of advertising. On this subject of mistreated authors, a few years back, The Filmhouse in Edinburgh hosted an embarrassingly empty screening of Clockers, with its author Richard Price moonlighting from the Edinburgh International Book Festival for a post-film Q&A. He explained, rather bitterly, that the on-screen interpretation of his grand work was a bastard child. Loyalty to the text proved impossible with the performers instructed by filmmaker Spike Lee not to read the original text. It is solely Lee’s vision on screen, his ticks and foibles, his mastery

January 2016

and verve, his glaring errors and blind arrogance.

How can a character born on the page be fully interpreted when the actor has no link to its source or is used simply as a visual prop? Moved around the set like a piece on a chessboard, as lead performer Donatas Banionis begrudged in Solaris, Tarkovsky’s (admittedly masterful) adaptation of the work of Soviet sci-fi supremo Stanislaw Lem. To flip this argument from the tragedy of Price’s mutilated masterpiece, many wonderful works of cinema have come from the most indifferent, or at least unassuming literature. Harry Grey’s 1952 pulp potboiler The Hoods was adapted into Sergio Leone’s beautifully operatic Once Upon a Time in America. There Will be Blood was the butterfly to emerge from the middling 1927 novel Oil!.

Andrea Mullaney is a journalist who also tackles literary adaptations in her Now Read the Book course at The University of Glasgow. Following an appearance on BBC Radio Scotland’s Culture Café (as it was known at the time), Mullaney later suggested in conversation with The Skinny : “It used to be accepted critical wisdom that it was easier to make a great film of a second-rate book than a masterpiece. I guess because it’s hard to improve upon a classic and the paring away necessary to condense it into a film means you’re losing important stuff.” Further successes come from novels of bold and simple visuals rather than abstracts or mental interiors – perhaps why graphic novels generally translate well (Neil Gaiman’s hugely anticipated The Sandman may present the greatest challenge, when it finally, finally releases). With the recent adaptation of Andy Weir’s debut novel The Martian – a narrative almost solely confined to the thoughts inside an astronaut’s helmet clad head – director Ridley Scott was forced to expand upon secondary characters and add broader melo- to the taut personal drama of the book. He has now turned his producer’s hand to television for the serialised adaptation of the Philip K. Dick classic, The Man in the High Castle. Game of Thrones further supports the argument that TV is now considered the grander canvas. “A movie has more in common with a short story than a novel,” Nigerian Director Biyi Bandele told The Skinny last year, while screening his adaptation of the epic novel Half of a Yellow Sun. “If you’re going to make a completely literally faithful adaptation of a novel you shouldn’t make a movie, you should make a TV series.”

The ‘literary’ end of literature throws up its own specific problems. Poetry of language must be represented through poetry of image rather than simple recitation of words – perhaps why John Fante’s lyrical masterpiece Ask the Dust failed (tellingly it was directed by ace wordsmith Bob Towne – the creative force behind the Chinatown script), and why Jenni Fagan’s The Panopticon hopefully will not on its release. “The big thing about the book is that we get to be in [central character] Anaïs’ head,” Jenni suggested to The Skinny last year, considering the challenge. “How do I get to translate that to the film without consistently relying on voiceover or some device like that? It’s trying to find the poetry in the images.”

“ A movie has more in common with a short story than a novel” Biyi Bandele

Adaptations often achieve success (signposted perhaps by the linguistic parallel) when author meets auteur. French New Wave master FranÇois Truffaut believed certain film directors to be the author of what appears on screen. He provided evidence for this theory with his own personal Fahrenheit 451 adaptation in 1966. There are many examples to show that when visionary meets visionary things often go well. Darren Aronofsky’s technical experimentation matches Hubert Selby Jnr’s hip prose in Requiem for a Dream – a contest which must be declared a draw. As is The Tin Drum, Volker Schlondorff ’s Palme d’Or-winning reinterpretation of the sadly-departed master fabulist Günter Grass. When, with Dr Zhivago, Pasternak and Lean go head to head like cultural sumos, we are left with two colossal and immovable works of art. What sets these apart is that they are re-imaginings rather than moving replications (further evidence – as ironic as it appears to be – is that Blade Runner, a work re-released in 2015 and rooted in themes of replication, is significantly distinct from Philip K. Dick’s source novel). A sequel of sorts is currently in the works with

BOOKS

Interview: Alan Bett Illustration: Andrea Campomanes

encoura-ging names attached, including Denis Villeneuve, director of the awesome Sicario.

An adaptation need not draw its own audience, it inherits one and often squanders that inheritance – occasionally more than once. Hollywood struck out after three feeble swipes at Richard Matheson’s dystopian classic I Am Legend (Will Smith proving the nadir), prompting the author to ponder, “I don’t know why Hollywood is fascinated by my book when they never care to film it as I wrote it.” In a reversal, the cinematic works often lead viewers back to the source novel.

Hopefully this proves the case for Grassic Gibbon’s Sunset Song, adapted with beautiful strokes by Terrence Davies, and also for Frankenstein– not a book you would imagine needs a promotional boost, but remember, it is not Shelly’s creature which inspires Halloween costumes each year; it is Karloff in the 1931 screen original. The written word is open to glorious interpretation while film provides us with a shared representation. 2015 witnessed the mostly derided Victor Frankenstein, an adaptation of sorts starring James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe and featuring a main character not even present in Shelly’s work – Igor, the hunchback servant of mixed origins (Fritz in the ’31 original, Bella Lugosi’s Ygor in the sequels). In this era of image, film rules the cultural landscape, in this case eclipsing the literary origin.

All that (depending upon opinion) saves or impedes certain novels from on-screen interpretation, is the term ‘unfilmable’, although filmmakers occasionally test this maxim. David Cronenberg is one great director who has followed this road to failure (in adapting J. G. Ballard’s Crash), admirable failure (William Burroughs’ The Naked Lunch) and abject failure (Don DeLillo’s Cosmopolis). Ben Wheatley has also tackled Ballard – already used to dividing opinion, it seems he will do so once again with the general release of High-Rise in March. The film – snubbed

by Cannes – has received wildly varying treatment from reviewers. Yet the term ‘unfilmable’ is less relevant now and Andrea Mullaney suggests, “We’ve seen film technology and sophistication increase so that almost anything that can be written about can be translated into film.” Life of Pi could hardly have been considered merely a decade ago. So, for those who are precious, think of your favourite literary work, and to borrow the famous tagline of a film, remade from a previous film, inspired by a short story – be afraid. Be very afraid.

Feature

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Keeping it Together, 2015

30

SHOWCASE

THE SKINNY

In Possibility, 2015

Stephanie Mann S

tephanie Mann graduated from Edinburgh College of Art MFA in 2013 and works from her studio at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop.

Upcoming show: The transparent tortoise shell and the un-ripe umbrella, curated by Louise Briggs, Glasgow Sculpture Studios. 23 Jan-5 Mar 2016.

For more information or to purchase prints visit: stephaniemann.org

Still Life on Safari, 2014

January 2015

SHOWCASE

31

LE Y ST FE LI

2016 Travel Resolutions A year has changed into another year. Since at this point of human evolution we have lost the ability to think for ourselves or make our own decisions, here is a list of travel-based resolutions we can pretend we’re going to achieve this year Try something you’ve never done before

What is the point of doing things more than once?

Every time you start to do something ask yourself, “Have I done this before?” If the answer is yes, stop immediately.

Abroad is a great place to try new things. For example, in Vietnam you can shoot a bazooka at a cow. If you have some sort of moral objection to needlessly exploding living things you could try a fire glove massage in China. What’s more relaxing than being slapped by a man with hot gloves on?

I’ll tell you –­shooting a cow with a bazooka.

Experience the real country

Get really involved in what the locals are doing.

Maybe join a rebel group, it’s pretty easy. Just pledge your undying allegiance to whatever cause they keep going on about, pop on a long scarf (try not to worry about the heat) and you’re in.

They love posing for pictures so your Facebook cover photo will look great when you get back. It is worth checking what type of rebels they are though. Are they good ones or bad ones? This can be a bit of a grey area but if there are a lot of beheadings and random explosions you should perhaps consider whether you picked the right team.

Take a year off to see the world

After the first six months spread over four hostels in the Gold Coast, try branching out with places such as Melbourne or, for the really adventurous,­ Perth.

The crippling loneliness can be tough and has been known to cause breakdowns. It may drive you to the point where you end up loudly explaining to a toilet attendant how you’ve discovered a high-level conspiracy within the ranks of The Singing Kettle. “This is one kettle that’s reached

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Lifestyle

boiling point!” you’ll say as you take off your shoes and socks and try to kick at the approaching security. “It’s all in the ­numbers!” you desperately appeal as you are consumed by the rough hands of the bouncers and bundled into the back of a van bearing a black kettle-shaped insignia. “This is a cover up!”

“Check the numbers!” you scream in vain to no one in particular.

This is often a good sign it’s time to come home.

Be a tourist at home

Short of money? Have a day as a tourist in your own town. You can spend all day on an open-top bus while you pretend not to see your mum coming out of Farmfoods. It’s just like the month in India you really wanted.

Write a blog

Make people well aware of all your new knowledge.

Don’t let your opinions disappear. Future generations will value the fact that you think Bangkok is a ‘melting­pot’ and ‘vibrant’ in the same way that people today value the Rosetta Stone.

What if Shakespeare had just thought all his plays and not written them down? We wouldn’t know all those old­fashionedy words, would we?

Come on, do it for your grandchildren. Possible topics:­‘Isn’t it funny how people use different words to us?’ or ‘They’re so poor but they’re still smiling.’

Volunteer

Fail to build a toilet in Malawi because you possess none of the necessary skills. In doing so, rob local workers of an income and deprive a poor village of basic sanitation.

Try new cuisine

You’re on holiday so carpe diem! ­Which literally

translates as fish anus, ­a delicacy in Botswana.

The world is packed full of unusual and exciting culinary opportunities. Wolf perineum goulash?

Rhinoceros bacon? Panda testicle shawarma?

Don’t mind if I do!

Become a more rounded human being The new cuisine should help with that.

Travel solo

Spend most of each morning on your iPad and the rest of the time plucking up the courage to say ‘So, eh... where you from?’ to the girls two beds over. See the great sights of the world while trying not to cry and eat alone in restaurants pretending that you’re waiting for someone.

Embark on a great journey

Spend a week on the Trans-Siberian Railway looking out of a window at desolate villages and polar bear corpses while you complete the whole Game of Thrones series on your Kindle.

Find yourself

Be careful with this one. I once went on a sixweek trip to India to find myself and discovered I was an incredibly racist Japanese schoolgirl. Some boxes are best left unopened.

Learn a new skill

Like how to sleep with your eyes open because the guy in the next bed has been giving you funny looks; or how to say “How long before I can eat solid foods again?” in Hindi.

Relax

Spend some time at the beach. Unwind, catch a little sun, start reading Game of Thrones again because it’s the only thing you have on your Kindle.

Eventually succumb to the devastating boredom

TRAVEL

Words: Damien Cifelli Illustration: Elena Boils

and wander into the ocean and disappear, only to be discovered in 14 years running a bar in Marbella under the pseudonym Señor Loco.

Do something that scares you

At 321 metres the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado is the highest bungee jump in the world. As you approach the edge consider the course your life has taken and how all your peers are more successful and happier than you. Think about how your prime years have faded away and you will most likely be alone forever. You will be confronted with the kind of overwhelming dread that usually only happens when you look at yourself in a mirror for too long. When you realise it is all too much and decide to throw yourself from the bridge you will be conveniently bounced back up, safe to dwell on those same thoughts another day.

Important note

Many elements here are subject to change due to the ever-altering nature of our planet. Sure, the changing climate may mean there are more turds floating around your ankles than before but it will also bring new opportunities for travel, so long as you haven’t been roasted to death or drowned.

If most of your family has been eaten by great white sharks after the rising sea levels caused them to become the planet’s dominant species, comfort yourself with thoughts of your next holiday.

For example: scuba diving down to the Pyramids, a safari through the sweltering savannahs of Norway or a visit to the beautiful island of Switzerland.

As more and more countries are submerged just consider all the new cruise routes that will be available. You might even be lucky enough to board an eternal cruise as everyone evacuates onto the sea in a desperate search for the remaining scraps of land.

THE SKINNY

The Impossible Dream From açaí to chia, gojis to yogis, Deviance takes a look into the perceived glamour of eating clean on Instagram

N

ew Year, as per, will for many mark the start of a ‘new you’. A new lifestyle, a new outlook.

And for lots of us, a new body, too. After all, those inner-beauty mantras which excused our festive indulgences are easily eroded when we log back into our digital worlds, saturated by #bodygoals, #fitspiration and #healthychoices.

Fashion magazines no longer set the bodily dogmas. Today, we live by the gospel according to the Kardashians and Jenners. With every new Instagram comes a new trend, thigh gaps one week to thigh brows the next. For the record, I’m of the opinion that access to Instagram is a cause for celebration. It allows us to assert our own body image and control its representation. But it’s a double-edged sword, and a certain danger is present when we take glamorous fitspo feeds at face value, following them in the same sheep-like manner we adopt fashion trends.

Take the #eatclean trend. “What could possibly be wrong with encouraging a healthy lifestyle?”

I hear you cry between mouthfuls of raw cauliflower and cacao. Nothing – on the surface. But looking deeper, there’s potential for innocent #brunch shots to become obsessional – an insidious fixation on curating a healthy online identity.

On top of this, the thousands of Instagram fitness accounts – which multiply daily – propagate a priority to look, not simply be, fit. Commenters obsess over the visuals, seeking cues, symbols and hashtags to regurgitate onto their own amateur feeds. Fitspiration may have replaced ‘thinspiration’, but is this just semantics? We’re told we need to look healthy more than feel it – if your waist’s wider than your iPhone, you aren’t trying hard enough. Because really, if your BMI falls in the real world and no one is around to hashtag it, did it really fall at all?

And the side effects don’t stop at thumbregional repetitive strain injury and a compulsion to hashtag. Orthorexia, an eating disorder which leaves sufferers obsessional about eating only healthy foods, is truly on the rise. Lifestyle blogger

Words: Liv McMahon Illustration: Peony Gent

Jordan Younger, formerly known as The Blonde Vegan hit headlines last year when she opened up about her own experience with the disorder.

“ If your waist’s wider than your iPhone, you aren’t trying hard enough” Like many, Jordan considered a plant-based diet the solution to all her food-related woes, with each like and additional follower encouraging her.

Juice cleanses prompted a downward spiral of self-consciousness and food phobia and malnutrition: “I cleansed, got too hungry, broke down and ate solid food, felt terribly guilty, and rededicated myself to another cleanse”.

Spending more time on our phones than we do sleeping, we’re consumed by a need to document what we eat, drink, wear and do. Let’s be honest, life looks better in a Valencia filter, offering a faux-natural, glamorised version of ourselves and everyday activities. Instagram brings us closer to lifestyles that seem attainable, but are they really? Victoria’s Secret models may have amazing bodies exemplifying #goals, but the fitness accounts reposting their pictures neglect to mention their $109-a-day diet.

It’s no longer enough just to be healthy; we must be hashtag healthy. When our social media profiles define ourselves more than anything else, it’s important to focus on what makes us happy rather than an anonymous online community. We’re more than our virtual profiles, so why should we let them dictate our realities?

Must Try Harder

Behold! Deviance’s suggested New Year’s resolutions, crowdsourced to help you be a little less shit in 2016...

R

ight, enough now. Christmas is over. Kaput.

Dust off those Ritz biscuit crumbs and brace yourself – it’s time to face 2016. Sure, you might have very little control over the particulars of life on this planet, like, for instance, your own mortality or Donald Trump’s horrible terracotta head.

But you can control you (to an extent). And Deviance is here to help, too – have a browse of our suggested New Year’s resolutions and pick a couple of ways to redeem yourself in in the coming year.

Cup o’ kindness for Auld Lang’s Syne and all that.

2016: The year of acknowledging that cultural appropriation is kind of a dick move...

Yes, fashion may well be stooping to an all-time low as it gasps for newness like a salmon in custard. And yes, trend cycles might be breakneck now, but that’s hardly an excuse when googling “is my Dashiki dress offensive?” takes about six seconds. And yes, it is.

Kate Pasola, Deviance editor

January 2016

...the year devil’s advocates go to hell Playing devil’s advocate isn’t actually a bold and political move. If the situation personally involves who you’re talking to, there’s a good chance that your edgy attempt to argue is actually, to them, a huge slap in the face.

Toby Sharpe, Deviance contributor ...the year of squaring up to bad behaviour Call people out more, for their growth and for your own. But also, don’t worry about being a warrior all the time. Sometimes you need to sit down, have a cup of tea, cry and try to forget about how crap everyone is. And that’s alright too.

Rianna Walcott, Deviance contributor ...the year we all stfu about being an ‘ally’ Question the militaristic and hyper-macho language of being an ally. Question your arsenal: your straightness or maleness. How do you profit from your status or identity as ‘normal’? Experiment and deconstruct.

Adam Benmakhlouf, Art editor

...the year we realise that life’s too short for ‘discrete packaging’ Be deviant. Buy a dildo if you want a dildo. Have more fun because you love yourself, not less fun because you want to, someday, love yourself.

Felicity Benefutuis, Deviance contributor ...the year we trust the words of minorities I’m sick of perusing my bookshelf and having white men stare at me. 2016 will be the year I diversify my reading list and get some female, ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ authors to stare back.

Poppy Weatherspoon, University of Manchester Feminist Collective ...the year we decide to take a united stand.

And stay that way In 2016 I’d like to see a unifying of the feminist movement; with lesbian separatists, sex workers and trans activists working together – if possible – on issues such as abortion rights or maintaining refuges for victims of domestic abuse and

DEVIANCE

Words: Deviance Team violence. The Women’s Equality Party might be able to achieve this. It will be interesting to see.

Ana Hine, former Deviance editor ...and finally, let’s make 2016 the year we all finally get our head around the vagina (literally) Straight males everywhere – when you find the clit, don’t treat it like a dick.

Liv McMahon, Deviance contributor “2016 cannot – nay, must not – unfold as another year of people prodding other people’s clitorides as if trying to remove a grease mark from a laptop screen. It stops here.”

Kate Pasola, Deviance editor “2015 was the year of glitter hair. 2016 is the year of the glitoris. Got low-hanging lips? Drip those drapes in diamanté, girl. Get some sequins on her.

Light up your vagina like Christmas, make her shine like a disco cave. Accessorise more with your V-face.”

Twinkle, Deviance contributor

Lifestyle

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Advertise in the Zap Need a last-minute boost to ticket sales? Talk to us about advertising in our weekly top ten events e-letter for timely, targeted exposure Audience network of 75,000+ every Thursday To find out more contact us on 0131 467 4630 or sales@theskinny.co.uk @theskinnymag /TheSkinnyMag Illustration: Rachel Davey

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THE SKINNY

RE V

Gig Highlights

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We cast an eye over a few treats from the central belt's live music calendar this coming month, featuring mini-festivals Celtic Connections, King Tut's New Year Revolution and the return of Bristol's finest

hile it’s basically impossible to separate the New Year from the dreaded attendant guilt that those resolutions inevitably bring, we say balls to that – in 2016, it’s time to take a fresh approach.

Focus on the things you promise to do, rather than things you won’t. And if there is one thing you should certainly do as this year gets underway, it’s surveying a few of these winter warmers.

Beckoning us into 2016 with a rather tantalising line–up, the good folk at King Tut’s have conspired to draw music lovers out into the winter eves, with their annual New Year’s Revolution boasting yet another solid array of grassroots musical goodness. Over 80 bands will take to the venue’s welltrodden stage across 16 nights in January, with black-clad Edinburgh rockers The Phantoms early contenders for an energetic start to the month (9 Jan).

In similar fashion but with a slightly more spidery, math-rock bent, Highlands four-piece Bloodlines will also be hitting Tut’s (17 Jan), while Fast Camels take a pure psychedelic turn on 11 Jan. The revolution continues with the expansive, exhilarating synth melodies of Glaswegian duo Apache Darling (20 Jan), as Stefanie Lawrence lets loose with the vocals that earned them a welldeserved T in the Park show last year. And if you add one more to your list, make it fast-growing local favourites Enemies Of The State, whose unrelenting anthemic rock rounds off proceedings on 23 Jan. Of course, a new year is always an opportunity to familiarise yourself with a few up-and-comers, and two piece garage-punk hybridists Slaves are a case in point (O2 ABC, 11 Jan). Coursing mouthfuls of lyrics that are clever and current, they’re freshly major-label signed and already renowned for their live shows – Isaac Holman, one half of the duo, is a stand-up, singing drummer, and you just don’t see that every day. Ded Rabbit are another one to keep on the radar – last year’s EP Moving In Slow Motion is an exercise in funk-tinged indie, with more than a slight early Arctic Monkeys nod – catch them at Sneaky Pete’s on 28 Jan. There’s also further reason to brave the winter climes when beloved articulators of love lost Daughter bring their hushed tones to The Queens Hall (23 Jan) – Elena Tonra’s heartfelt vocals guarantee to warm the coldest of bones. Scottish rock stalwarts De Rosa show how it’s done (with support from Kid Canaveral) when they launch their startling return LP Weem at Summerhall on 30 Jan, and over at Óran Mór, Minus The Bear add a quirky indie-pop touch on 25 Jan when the

Seattle group bring their electro-synth fanfare to our shores.

And for something completely different, and rather legendary, how about a little bit of Black Flag’s punk rock attitude? Okay, so it’s not the band per se (or in any way, actually!), but the inimitable Henry Rollins himself takes to the stage solo at O2 Academy on 18 Jan when he hits town for a ‘talking show’ as part of his Charmingly Obstinate UK tour. Expect political food for thought and witty anecdotes aplenty.

Of course, it wouldn’t be January without a firm and favourite fixture of the winter calendar: Glasgow’s Celtic Connections returns once again for its two week run from 14-31 January, celebrating both folk traditions and its modern day influences. The annual festival is now into its second decade and with over 300 concerts, talks, workshops and star-studded collaborations, this year promises as many heavyweights as you’d come to expect from the grand ol’ dame. Underscoring the Janboree’s enduring knack for linking traditional Scottish folk fare with analogous acts from across the way, a top pick is American born, Icelandbased virtuoso John Grant. Album number three, Grey Tickles, Black Pressure was one of 2015’s unique musical moments, combining humour, pathos, razor sharp social commentary and some damn danceable tunes into one idiosyncratic package – he plays Glasgow’s Concert Hall on 26 Jan. Other notables in the long list of Connections highlights are young Manchurian maestro Kiran Leonard (14 Jan, The Hug and Pint), who at a tender 20 years of age has already drawn comparisons to both Jeff Buckley AND Zappa (no mean feat indeed), and at the same venue on 28 Jan, The Phantom Band’s vocalist Rick Anthony steps out as Rick Redbeard (and Friends) with his collection of hauntingly lovely ballads.

Former Delgado and longtime Scottish singersongwriter Emma Pollock makes an appearance at Óran Mór (29 Jan) ahead of the release of her upcoming third solo record; Fife native and one of the brains behind the iconic Fence Records label, James Yorkston, teams up with The Pictish Trail and Withered Hand (28 Jan, Mitchell Theatre); plus there’s an appearance by post-pop creatives Monogram (30 Jan, The Hug and Pint). And if you just can’t decide, there’s the Roaming Roots Revue featuring a host of artists as diverse as Glasgow duo Honeyblood, Virginian new-soul guru Matthew E White, Alabama blues-pop newcomer Anderson East and Edinburgh’s Blue Rose Code (Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 23 Jan).

Monogram

Emma Pollock

Do Not Miss

Massive Attack

January 2016

Credit: Warren du Preez & Nick Thornton Jones

Massive Attack / Young Fathers Glasgow O2 Academy, 22-23 Jan Trip-hop would likely cease to be without the pioneering influence of Massive Attack; the Bristol group’s rise throughout the 90s led the charge for a genre that carved out its own niche away from traditional hip-hop to become something quintessentially British. Currently comprising original members Robert Del Naja and Grant Marshall alongside a rotating cast of seasoned players, their soundsystem mentality paved the way for contemporaries such as Portishead and Nightmares On Wax, and made music that was ambient, atmospheric, and damn sexy – never has a more

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beautifully breathy, crystalline vocal been heard than that of Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Fraser on the iconic Teardrop.

It’s rumoured that the tour heralds new Massive Attack material on the near horizon, and with support from the brilliant Mercury Prizewinning Young Fathers, an act who are taking their own 21st century spin on hip-hop (as solidified by last year’s White Men Are Black Men Too, voted #7 in our best albums of the year round-up), how could these shows be anything other than, well, massive? [Claire Francis]

Preview

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Credit: Rita Azevedo

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Credit: Amy Muir

Words: Claire Francis

Hudson Mohawke O2 ABC, 12 Dec

The Spook School / Chorusgirl / Joyce Delaney Nice n Sleazy, 6 Dec

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Stereo, Glasgow, 11 Dec

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“Might live tweet my show tonight,” deadpans Michael Kasparis – aka Apostille – before the gig. He doesn’t actually do it (140 characters are no way enough), but it’s not the type of jape you’d put past him; resembling a mild-mannered janitor, he nonetheless bounces across the stage armed with distorted, shouty vocals and a table full of hardware, the bass frequencies set to trigger seismic damage. It’s noise that artfully toys with preconceptions; one part Mike Skinner to two parts Atari Teenage Riot, and exposure that’s bloody, taking few prisoners.

In contrast, Benjamin John Power doesn’t do stage presence; there are times when the most interesting thing to look at is the spinning Blanck Mass roundel on the projection screen at his back.

Instead, a case of soundtrack pitched centre-stage, and a set of seamless electronica that works on an almost symphonic level.

There’s plenty from this year’s Dumb Flesh LP – opener Loam all twisted filament, Dead Format a benediction – but this is no mere album showcase, the wide-aperture drone of Olympian and screwedup synth pop of The Great Confuso representing counterpoint. By tweaking and splaying the material, then pulling it into an hour-long continuum, each track is presented in a slightly different context, and it’s this reframing that underlines the control, reinforces the gear changes; by the time the set descends into its dissonant pay-off (and Power is rewarded with the only peal of applause), there’s the sense of expectations reassembled, which is all kinds of thrilling. [Duncan Harman]

Jangle pop’s detractors have always had it wrong, the well-worn dismissals (fey; ineffectual) failing to comprehend the strong seam of egalitarianism such music celebrates; the willingness to face sexual politics head on. Tonight is a strong case in point – for however unpolished Glasgow duo Joyce Delaney are, Chrissy (guitar) and Nyla (bass) full of nervous chatter between tracks, theirs is a set loaded with short, snappy, deliciously foul-mouthed rumbustiousness, never scared to trail pertinent thoughts.

Chorusgirl’s Silvi Wersing admits that keeping up the level of chat will be a challenge – but with such sprightly, Gatling gun indie pop up her sleeves, this is never a problem. With their self-titled debut LP fresh in the stores, the London-based four piece have been making waves of late, and it’s blanckmass.co.uk easy to see why, the subtle melancholia of Shivers begetting the savvy catchiness of recent single Oh, To Be A Defector, Silvi’s soft German accent adding layers of intrigue to their perky, sunny sound.

The Spook School, meanwhile, can be forgiven for being demob happy – it’s the end of a long tour, after all (and drummer Niall, stripped to the waist again, seems mischievously concerned that he’s pocketed a member of the audience’s house keys). Not that their headline slot is in any way perfunctory – the self-confessed queer DIY pop punks are far too canny for that. It’s the multi-directional focus of the shared vocals, the interplay between guitars, the questions posed around gender and sexuality (Binary in particular is both rousing and deeply intelligent), the tracks from recent LP Try To Be Hopeful full of nuance. In other words, about as far from fey and ineffective as it’s possible to be. [Duncan Harman] thespookschool.com

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Review

Photo: John Graham

hudsonmohawke.com

Blanck Mass / Apostille

Django Django / Stealing Sheep / RM Hubbert

Photo: John Graham

That mute silhouette perched atop the gleaming mothership – flanked by a drummer and a keyboardist like royal hands – has come a very long way indeed since his days spinning as DJ Mayhem on student radio. But it’s important to remember those roots, for this is a special homecoming gig: Hudson Mohawke’s returned to Glasgow.

And this isn’t some passive DJ set. HudMo’s recruited two deft instrumentalists to help animate his vision, who have toured this rig with him this year. This incarnation tonight – perhaps especially for the ABC – seems vast, with Mr. Birchard himself at a particularly regal elevation. From the nocturnal, urban buzz of Lantern’s titular opening, it’s clear he’s cranked up his second LP’s cinematics to an eye-watering degree, especially when he then immediately launches into System’s industrial bombast. Before we can catch our breath, he triggers a rib-cracking version of Gooo (from his Lunice trap collab TNGHT), complete with air-raid sirens and apocalyptically crimson lighting, and the crowd is already in pieces.

He sounds crystal clear tonight, plucking highlights from Lantern but also delving into Butter and the Chimes EP to an ecstatic reaction. But what really sets this live performance apart is the lighting: mesmerisingly choreographed, with colours, timing and movement giving each track reimagined personalities, it’s a rare thing to have the visual aspect as arresting as the sonic. Lil Djembe’s funhouse glockenspiel is paired with wonky, rainbow beams, while Portrait of Luci is backed by blinding white and pink flashes. At points, the lights spin and wobble in the darkness, it’s like the venue’s quaking.

Though it may as well be, by the time he detonates the almighty Higher Ground (also from the TNGHT EP), with its stamping, imperial horns, chased by the equally brassy and obnoxious Thunder Bay, and the audience churns. Above and beyond what the fans could have hoped for. [George Sully]

Photo: Jayjay Robertson

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Django Django arrive on stage fizzing with energy despite being several months into a gruelBarrowland, 3 Dec ling tour to promote second album Born Under Saturn. They zip through their now-standard instrurrrrr mental introduction, which seamlessly leads into The Barrowland doors have been open just 30 the rich sonic textures of Hail Bop, a stand-out from minutes when RM Hubbert takes to the stage. Only their 2012 self-titled debut. a few dozen or so punters have made it up the They might be filed as an art rock band, but stairs, but the master guitarist delivers an accomp- much of the Barras crowd is dancing as if this was lished set regardless. Equally as enjoyable are his a superstar DJ dropping classics at Sub Club – new between-song musings; a career as a stand-up cuts like Shake & Tremble and Reflections are would not be beyond this man of many talents. greeted with ecstasy, with hands being thrown in The ballroom is noticeably fuller when psyche- the air with abandon. The Djangos’ formula is wordelic pop trio Stealing Sheep arrive in matching king a treat; keyboardist Tommy Grace provides technicolour capes shortly after Hubbert takes the soaring melodies while drummer Dave Maclean his leave. Their insistent rhythms and alt-pop hooks lays down a rhythmic foundation of floorshaking make it obvious why tonight’s headliners booked proportions. When you add in the vocal harmonising of Vincent Neff and Jimmy Dixon you have a them as a support act; these are two bands cut band who don’t sound quite like anyone else from similar, luminous cloth, with This Time an anthem that wouldn’t have disgraced Gary Numan’s – think Beta Band, Captain Beefheart, early ‘90s Eurodance and a marathon runner’s level of Tubeway Army. There’s a potentially awkward moment when Emily Lansley knocks her keyboard fitness required to pull it all off. to the floor mid-song, but the group don’t miss a djangodjango.co.uk beat and quickly laugh it off like true pros.

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THE SKINNY

Photo: Jayjay Robertson

Photo: Kate Johnston

Kagoule

Sneaky Pete’s, 9 Dec

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Kagoule came and they bloody well conquered.

Despite Storm Desmond raging his blowy best, a packed-out Sneaky Pete’s gathers to witness the Nottingham three piece slam it home, hard. Lucy Hatter, Cai Burns and Lawrence English are barely out of their teens, but prove consummate professionals when it comes to teetering on the brink of musical chaos. Supremely, bafflingly tight, their non-stop touring regime’s endowed Kagoule with a mad dose of confidence in letting it all hang out – and the skill required to rein in the monster they’re more than capable of creating.

The band’s debut album Urth was released by noted metal label Earache in a somewhat unexpected pairing, but after watching the trio bring the record into technicolour, all spikey angles, open mouths and bonkers drum fills, the signing

makes total sense. Racing from Adjust the Way to Glue, through Damp Sand and into Gush, the three show absolutely no sign of slowing or softening.

In fact, the only breather of (vague) sorts comes from a revamped version of Made in Concrete. One of the earliest songs written by the then-teenaged band, the transformation it’s seen over four-or-so years is total testimony to Kagoule’s powers of invention, and offers unquestionable evidence that this band are moving at a ridiculous rate of knots.

Come crashing end of set, there’s a slightly stunned “one more tune” encore… swiftly followed by a surge to the merch stand. Edinburgh’s obviously been more than taken by East Midlands’ finest.

After noteworthy support from the sunshiney shambolics of Andrew R. Burns and the Tropicanas, too, the night’s proved another gem in Sneaky’s impeccable winter booking – and a stern reminder to go and see a Kagoule show, whatever the weather.

Pure gold. [Katie Hawthorne]

jennylee

In fact, her coolly confident, commanding vibes – honestly, no trace of nerves – turns a record that’s a definite slow-burner into a set-list of instant, rrrrr approachable hits. Single Never, alongside abrasive, confrontational tracks like White Devil and “I’m really nervous!” protests Jenny lee Lindberg, Offerings, fully fills the room with Lindberg’s newly mid set. In theory, sure, she has every reason to be; her brand new record – and first solo release new wave, goth-tinged vision, inciting eager enthuwithout her Warpaint band members – is just days siasm from an unfamiliar but thoroughly supportaway from release, and the set at Glasgow’s Stereo ive audience. Wrapping up by strapping on her marks only the third occasion that right on! has bass, Lindberg introduces an “old song that some ever been played live. But if she’s genuinely feeling of you might know” – which turns out to be CC, from Warpaint’s most recent album. It’s obvious butterflies, you’d never know it from the performance here tonight. that everyone knows it. Written about her husband With the hood up on her right on!-branded Chris Cunningham, it’s a fitting finale to a set of merch hoody, Lindberg claims the spotlight with Lindberg’s most personal material to date, adding total ease. Cutting a forceful figure center stage – context and hinting at directions as yet untaken. and without her signature bass in hand – she directs Ridiculously capable and completely convincing, her brand new band through her music with prejennylee’s excitement and pride in these “warmcision, assertively calling for a restart in the face up” shows is infectious – when she returns, you of accidental feedback. know there’ll be fireworks. [Katie Hawthorne] Stereo, Glasgow, 7 Dec

kagoule.bandcamp.com

jennyleelindberg.com

C Duncan

Pleasance, 4 Dec

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Photo: Mihaela Bodlovic

Photo: Derek Robertson

A Mercury nod – and with it a breakneck ascent to hot topic status – has barely fazed C Duncan and his band, still as humble and charming as the greenest of unsigned acts. They take to the Pleasance stage with minimal fanfare, letting the music do the talking, and within moments we’re spirited off to sepia-tinted faraway lands.

Because that’s what Duncan’s intricate compositions achieve: a unique, transportive experience, suddenly taking you a million miles away, to another time, another place. Call it what you want: neo-folk, pop-psych, timelessly bucolic alt-pop (is anyone even keeping track of these anymore?)... whichever way you slice it, it’s affecting, and we’re grateful for the venue’s ample seating, perfect for privately zoning out to these golden, dulcet melodies.

And though there’s an academic sensibility In the flesh, Barnett’s is band sensibility – no here, his classical training and virtuosic ear transCourtney Barnett front and centre for her, instead preferring to track late to pristine constructions, artisanally crafted O2 ABC, Glasgow, 2 Dec stage right and muscle along some sturdy rock jams around the one thing that separates this wheat from modern pop chaff: the vocals. Duncan’s are, with her touring crew, bassist Andrew Sloane and rrrrr She’s not just Aussie, Courtney Barnett, she’s percussionist Davey Mudie. Perhaps it’s this energe- of course, incredible (the crowd’s awe is palpable tic but near perfunctory playing that so satisfyingly tonight), but the harmonising and layering with the definition of it. Cleaving to her country’s most worthy musical exports, she takes the O2 ABC stage complements the singer’s redoubtable lyrics; a those of his entourage are something else entirely. to the blustering melody of Nick Cave and The sturdy backbone to Barnett’s 21st century Antipo- From the whistling shanty of For’s Autumn Rebuild Bad Seeds’ Dig! Lazarus, Dig!, and winds up the sold dean ruminations on everything from lawn mowing version, to Castle Walls’ frosty, choral melancholy, out show with an encore rendition of Know Your and attempted murder (Small Poppies) to house sometimes the keys, guitars and drums feel like Product by southern hemisphere punk progenitors parties and existentialist indecision (Nobody Really token additions to that show-stealing voice.

The Saints. And in-between the laid-back grunge Cares If You Don’t Go To The Party).

It’s not, in fairness, the most animated of performances, and there’s a degree of restraint both girl from Melbourne shows how to completely and Pedestrian At Best belies its ironic title as it utterly charm an adoring Glasgow audience. lays claim to being the most foot-stomping, raucous to the band and to certain tracks that, mostly, fails to elevate the gig beyond the studio recordings. The A one-two-three killer punch comes in the form sing-along of the night, but the down-tempo talent is by no means in doubt; notable highlights of opener Elevator Operator, despite the slightly Depreston most ensnares the attention of the from his debut Architect (Here To There’s upbeat muddy sound quality, then the idiosyncratic Avant packed venue. Under the ABC’s glittering disco Django Django-esque tempo, the mighty Garden Gardner has Barnett, outlining the details of a gar- ball the slow ballad about a nondescript dening-inspired panic attack in deliciously deadpan Melbourne suburb, transcends geography to and its addictive, lilting “So a-liiive” chorus) are fashion, before a seamless transition into the bluesy become something much greater – much like the even more enchanting in a live setting. But these bass line and snapping riffs of Dead Fox, yet anosparks, though myriad, never quite catch fire in inimitable Ms Barnett herself. [Claire Francis] ther introspective tongue in cheek gem from the way our expectations might have envisaged. courtneybarnett.com.au Barnett’s endearingly quirky debut Sometimes I Sit [George Sully] And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit. c-duncan.co.uk

January 2016

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Review

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Album of the Month Savages

Adore Life [Matador, 22 Jan]

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Few bands can rule that ‘love is the answer’ without a single wink of irony, and pull it off with magnificent, majestic aplomb. For this reason, amongst many, many more, Adore Life is an utter triumph.

Heavy hitting singles The Answer and T.I.W.Y.G set expectation for this record to be every inch as icily furious as Savages’ 2013 debut Silence Yourself, but the sophomore effort from Jehnny Beth and gang brews a different kind of anger.

Instead of frosty post-punk, the four-piece take a trip through the fiery pits of the heart – pitching a truly punk demand for honesty,

respect and integrity. It’s incredible that positivity should sound so radical.

Alternating between accusation and empathy in Sad Person and asking, genuinely, ‘Is it human to ask for more? Is it human to adore life?’ in the title track, the four-piece delve brutally deep into the anxieties which characterise our silly, romantic, philosophical species. With fearless approach and razor sharp delivery, Adore Life is so bruisingly intimate that it feels like a surgical hand taking grasp of your gut. When Savages speak, you listen. [Katie Hawthorne] Playing Glasgow Art School on 21 Feb | savagesband.com

The Altered Hours

The Besnard Lakes

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In Heat Not Sorry [Art For Blind Records, 29 Jan] Debut albums, however raw (and sometimes that’s very raw indeed) are as much about future promise as the here and now. Take Irish five-piece The Altered Hours, whose first long player feels at times like a work in progress, the production a little shallow, highlighting each rough edge. But there’s certainly ideas afoot; themes that stretch from Berlin (where the album was recorded) to post-punk/shoegaze expressionism, brought to life by chugging bass and girl/boy vocals.

Opening track Who’s Saving Who contains echoes of Slowdive at their zenith, the coy restraint of Birds suggesting early Cure.

Currents of desperation sweep down amidst scuzzy guitar and (on the wonderfully-paced Saviours) distant shards of piano; seventh track Virgin’s Sleeve even manages to evoke a psychedelic-folk intelligence that’s as rich as it is unexpected. In Heat Not Sorry isn’t going to win many prizes, and could have benefitted from a little more polish, but a few listens in and you can certainly see what they’re trying to do; their next release is very much anticipated. [Duncan Harman]

Cross Record

The Coliseum Complex Museum [Jagjaguwar, 22 Jan] If you like giant orbs, the great outdoors, hanging out in museums and being told creepy, candle-lit stories of strange beasts and ghostly happenings, you’ll fit right in with The Besnard Lakes. The twelve-handed band from Montreal take their name from a collection of waters in rural Saskatchewan, and make no secret of their interest in mammoth, expansive landscapes – both sonic and geographical.

Fifth album A Coliseum Complex Museum truly is colossal, and certainly complicated, but in such an un-rushed, all-encompassing way that – like with awe-inspiring natural phenomena – you feel no pressure to take it all in on the first go.

Mystical and psychedelic, with a real knack for texture and detail in the midst of a big, blown-out prog adventure, this is an album best served whole. Turn off those pesky shuffle features, draw the curtains and settle in for a luxurious full-length listen. It’s just what these all too long, too dark evenings require. [Katie Hawthorne]

Wabi-Sabi [Ba Da Ding, 29 Jan]

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Two years ago, husband and wife team Dan Duszynski and Emily Cross, otherwise known as Cross Record, decamped to rural Texas, where Cross, emboldened by the sheer scale of landscape (not to mention the scorpions that adorn the artwork), wrote a suite of songs indebted to the remote beauty beyond her windows.

As such, there’s a pronounced elegance to Wabi-Sabi. Wispy vocals layered across delicate musical patterns that float, difficult to slot neatly into genre – there’s a wee trace of BjÖrk’s more paredback moments about this. With track titles such as The Curtains Part, Wasp In A Jar and Something Unseen Touches A Flower To My Forehead, the drama is naturalistic in inclination, Steady Waves built upon a mean guitar riff that complements Cross’s voice rather than drowning it out. Both vivid and dreamlike, each narrative swims in and out of focus without ever being forced; the type of record to return to, again and again. [Duncan Harman] crossrecord.com

thebesnardlakes.com

Playing Glasgow Hug and Pint on 13 Mar | alteredhours.com

President Sweetheart

I Play My Shadow [Big Potato Records, 29 Jan]

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Lost and found and looking back; the first outing for President Sweetheart, the latest vehicle for (Neil Halstead collaborator) Nick Holton and friend/foil Tom Butterworth, and it’s certainly bittersweet. The nine tracks present are acoustic-driven and heathery, the electric guitar brought out to add nuance and accentuation.

The problem is that there’s no great revelation; more a gentle prodding towards love and loss that occasionally drifts toward that phony gravitas employed by TV execs during modern sitcom credits. I Play My Shadow isn’t insincere – there’s humour to Still Not Right, self-deprecation about Promise, while highlight Do You Feel Like Those Other Girls suggests a seam of Americana that’s most pleasing. But sometimes playing with regret isn’t enough – not if you don’t know how to fix the problem. [Duncan Harman] bigpotatorecords.co.uk

Howes

De Rosa

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3.5 Degrees [Melodic, 15 Jan] Delicate, sparse, occasionally transmogrifying; the debut album from Manchester-based musician John Howes is both back-lit and fugue-like, riffing upon solitary, nocturnal notions in 8-bit configuration, rather like that Commodore 64 you left running for so long it attained sentience.

Fans of the Third Eye Foundation and Aphex Twin’s more intimate moments will recognise the sense of loose, bleached-out disquiet that comes with such articulate electronica; on tracks including OYC and the almost kinky Zeroset, it’s as if you can visualise the trails of modular synth experimentation, Howes trying out different ideas to see which best fits. Overt beats don’t appear until the sixth stanza, bass conspicuous by its absence pretty much throughout, yet whilst the themes can occasionally run away with themselves through lack of definite direction or concrete dénouement, 3.5 Degrees remains an accomplished debut – still only 22, it will be fascinating to see which direction he’s headed next. [Duncan Harman]

Though they announced their reunion back in 2012, the release of Weem bookends a hiatus of almost seven years for Bellshill quintet De Rosa. Now a trio in their latest guise, this third album arrives with a similar progression and confidence to that which characterised majestic sophomore effort, Prevention.

Ornate, and shot through with their distinct brand of colloquial folk rock, Weem is beguiling from the first listen and only gets better the more you cosy on up with it. Fittingly, writing duties took place in the rural Scottish Highlands, a setting continually evoked within the work. From the glorious, unfurling opening of Spectres via anthemic highlight Lanes (and its subsequent reprisal), Weem is the sound of a band regrouping because they had to. The byproduct just happens to be their finest release so far. [Darren Carle]

melodic.co.uk/howesalbum

derosaband.com

Daughter

Shearwater

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Not to Disappear [4AD, 22 Jan] If Daughter’s debut had you labelling the London trio as de rigueur indie alt-folk, think again: How to Disappear sets their tender, haunted shadow play alight.

A thrilling expansion of the template, this document of (once again) lovers that wrong is not for the fearful, but these songs are a league ahead of their predecessors. And with a newly expanded sound, Daughter are suddenly huge.

Numbness and self-loathing sit deep at the album’s core. There’s no hiding from these songs: they know you inside out. It might – just – be a redemptive experience. Certainly, as Tonra flails for love among the ruins, you feel her shaking off the ghosts. How to Disappear is shattering throughout: a brooding sound board, crackling guitars, unsettling beats and Tonra buried in there somewhere, documenting unspeakable hurt, graphic and unfiltered. An uncommonly generous work, relatable rather than voyeuristic. [Gary Kaill] Playing Edinburgh Queen’s Hall on 23 Jan | ohdaughter.com

Jet Plane and Oxbow [Sub Pop, 22 Jan] Back in 2008, with breakthrough Rook newly hatched and attracting fresh interest, Shearwater were invited to open a handful of dates on Coldplay’s arena-filling Viva La Vida tour – an incongruous fit, you might think, for Jonathan Meiburg’s plaintive, subdued songwriting. Eight years on, however, hints of stadium-scale bombast are making their mark on the everevolving Shearwater sound, with ninth album Jet Plane and Oxbow the band’s punchiest and most populist work to date.

If the artwork isn’t indication enough that change is afoot (out with the usual ecological imagery, in with geometric neon), then the bubbling synths and Bowie-esque swagger of lead single Quiet Americans are a dead giveaway. Only occasionally does the grandeur threaten to run away from them, as on the over-blustery Pale Kings; otherwise, their form is more or less impeccable, with the swooning vocal melodies of Backchannels and the off-kilter creep of Filaments among its standout elements. [Chris Buckle] Playing Glasgow King Tut’s on 20 Feb | shearwatermusic.com

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Review

Weem [Rock Action, 22 Jan]

RECORDS

Playing Glasgow Hug ‘n’ Pint on 16 Jan, Dundee Beat Generator on 23 Jan and Edinburgh Summerhall on 30 Jan

Mystery Jets

Curve of the Earth [Caroline International, 22 Jan]

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Those firing into Curve of the Earth expecting the same twinkly-eyed, danceable indie-pop as their debut Making Dens will need to cool their jets, so to speak. More slowly paced, and more sincere, Mystery Jets have matured out of that tricky midnoughties adolescence.

Blood Red Balloon stands out as the clearest demonstration of their 70s influences, with infectious harmonies, guitar solos and a well considered structure, while Midnight's Mirror’s sexy basslines will seduce even the most casual listener. Apart from a few tonal blips (Taken By The Tide may well be a smuggled-in Band of Horses track), Curve... is a remarkably slick experience, given it’s the first to be entirely self-produced by the Eel Pie Island gang. As frontman Blaine Harrison croons on closer The End Up, ‘Won’t it be strange / to see how we change / when we’re all grown up?’ [George Sully] Playing Glasgow Art School on 20 Feb | mysteryjets.com

Hinds

Tortoise

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Leave Me ALone [Lucky Number, 8 Jan]

PAUW

The Catastrophist [Thrill Jockey, 22 Jan]

Macrocosm Microcosm [Caroline International, 22 Jan]

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2015 saw the Madrid garage-rockers explode onto the international scene, scooping up fancy festival slots with tracks like Bamboo, and proving themselves so ridiculously likeable that they baggsied spots on all the ‘ones to watch for next year’ listicles. The New Year’s bells herald the arrival of their first LP, Leave Me Alone – and it’s the peppiest, jauntiest, most charismatic debut you’ll likely find in the next 12 months.

If you need an anthem for sassily chucking flowers in the bin, necking some wine or getting your A-game flirt on, then Hinds have all the answers. An infectious gang mentality, all overlapping vocals and silly voices, makes you feel like you’re in on the in-jokes, but there’s nothing funny about the skill involved in creating a record this perfectly, precisely laid-back. Leave Me Alone is crunchy, sticky and massively moreish; [Katie Hawthorne]

Listening from record to record, you’d barely notice most changes in Tortoise’s oeuvre – there’s nothing here quite so forcefully different as the sonic reshuffle that came with 2001’s Standards. Instead, they’ve become beautifully adept at mapping out their own world, whether draping soft chords over gurgling, biomechanical electronics or traversing the landscapes of kosmische and dub with stuttering breakbeats as their only vehicle (Gesceap).

With vocalists on board for the first time (Yo La Tengo’s Georgia Hubley on the hymnal Yonder Blue; US Maple’s Todd Rittman on a suitably tense cover of David Essex’s Rock On), purists might question whether The Catastrophist signifies a watering down of Tortoise’s idiosyncratic vision. Rest assured, although still more cerebral pleasure than triumphalist pop breakthrough, this uniquely accessible record is a subtle delight. [Will Fitzpatrick]

Accomplished and playful, the Dutch quartet’s debut is a likeable slice of psychedelia. But that’s only half the story. While scene leaders Tame Impala and The Black Angels put riffs and muscle before whimsy, and draw a much clearer line back to the source, PAUW reference little from the late 60s, favouring instead the later side roads.

Aided by arrangements that are flighty, free and coloured with keys and woodwind – PAUW toy with both prog and folk influences. There are shades of Focus, a hint of Kevin Ayres. Keep up as they traverse the back and forth of Today Never Ends, dexterously changing tempo and tone. Not, as is often the case when mysticism and feel are key drivers, entirely compelling throughout, but brimming with melody and genuinely characterful. [Gary Kaill]

Playing Glasgow Stereo on 21 Feb | hindsband.com

thrilljockey.com/artists/tortoise

pauwband.com

Guadalupe Plata

Songs For Walter

Saul Williams

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Guadalupe Plata [Everlasting, 8 Jan]

Songs For Walter [aA Recordings, 15 Jan]

The kind of record that leaves you feeling you need a bath, Guadalupe Plata is beyond dirty.

A scuzzed-up, howlaround, frenzied fusing of blues forms and punk attitude, the Andalucian trio’s fourth album was recorded live to eight track tape and you can tell: the arrangements are raw, the production barely there, the sound an abrasive, all-consuming clatter. It’s an elementary mix but there’s a blackened spirituality within its shadows.

Take Serpientes Negras (‘black snakes’), where the rickety backing, surf guitar and Pedro de Dios Barceló’s wailing vocals stir up a bubbling, hellfire brew. In fact, it’s Barceló who deepens the band’s character. A genuinely gifted singer, he is, at times, a dead ringer for a young Black Francis. Which might, at first glance, not be the most obvious reference point but see how many times here you find yourself muttering under your breath, ‘You are the son of a motherfucker.’ [Gary Kaill]

After years of gracing the various backstreet and basement stages of his hometown, Manchester’s Laurie Hulme finally releases his debut album. A hotch-potch of homespun folk and ramshackle acoustic pop, Songs For Walter is the eponymous tribute to the singer’s late grandfather. That particular Walter, a key and influential figure for Hulme, is the inspiration for a sidelong look at a life well lived.

From the tenderly picked Stamping on Snails (‘I was 99% sure you were dead…’) to the electric stomp of Useless, Songs For Walter, much like its faded holiday polaroid packaging, works as a warm and candid recollection of family life and the complexities of friendship. Plaudits to Hulme for his selflessness and for having the generosity to write from someone else’s perspective, and a thumbs up for doing so so tenderly and with such clear-sighted love for his subject. In an age of dead-eyed cynicism, Songs For Walter is, commendably, all heart. [Gary Kaill]

guadalupeplata.bandcamp.com

facebook.com/songsforwalter

MartyrLoserKing [Fader, 29 Jan] Ever since 2001’s Amethyst Rock Star, Saul Williams has been a long standing political activist, poet and musician, and part of the lineage of Afrofuturists. MartyrLoser King is a cybernetic update of the struggle for civil liberties which has reared its head in America, across the world and online, once more.

The lyrical themes are ambitious, attempting to tie together Trayvon Martin to Edward Snowden to the Arab Spring with lead track Burundi. Williams also tackles mass data breach and the watchful eye of surveillance through the constant repetitions of ‘five million followers’ on Roach Eggs; exacerbated by choice of framing, his point is made as if grappling with a zeitgeist he doesn’t fully understand.

Nevertheless, 14 years into his recorded career and still sounding this eloquently pissed off with the world, Saul Williams is not short on spark. MartyLoserKing is the ‘annotated middle finger’, wise and strong enough to reinvigorate those who thought rap had lost its conscience. [Jon Davies] saulwilliams.com

Pete Astor

MONEY

Eleanor Friedberger

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Spilt Milk [Fortuna POP!, 8 Jan]

Suicide Songs [Bella Union, 29 Jan]

Following last year’s dabblings in kraut-out dubtronica with Ellis Island Sound, Pete Astor returns to what he does best: serenading us with simple, well-crafted janglepop. Recent single Mr. Music finds him (self-effacingly?) mocking more venerable performers with its ‘when will he let it go?’ refrain, but elsewhere he’s on a charm offensive, thanks to the doe-eyed delivery of Sleeping Tiger and The Getting There. At times this feels like a celebration of what can be achieved with three chords and an earnest tale, intelligently told.

Far and away the indiest-sounding record Astor has produced since the mid-80s, Spilt Milk was recorded with the help of James Hoare from Ultimate Painting, who themselves are somewhat indebted to The Loft and The Weather Prophets. This, however, proves central to the album’s gentle appeal: it’s the product of an artist who’s comfortable in his own skin, and the ensuing warmth of the comfort zone is quietly addictive. [Will Fitzpatrick]

2013's The Shadow of Heaven saw MONEY become a worthy addition to Manchester’s rich bloodline of musical mavericks. Bewitching melodies, lyrical dexterity and a sense of meticulous craftsmanship earned the band a wealth of critical praise and seemed to capture something of the gloomy beauty of their own city.

Suicide Songs sees the trio perfect what they started to build on their debut. The murky allure of the Northwest is still a prominent aesthetic, yet second time round they have the confidence to shed more light on what was previously kept quietly in the shadows.

As the album’s title might suggest, the sum is a result of the significant mental strife the band have encountered in the last couple of years, though Hopeless World and Night Came conversely appear to signal their breaking through this wall of depression. They have arrived on the other sounding bigger, brighter and possibly even more beautiful than before. [Dan Pilkington]

twitter.com/PeteAstor

moneybandofficial.com

Emma Pollock

In Search of Harperfield [Chemikal Underground, 29 Jan]

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Emma Pollock’s third solo album refers to the first house bought by Pollock’s parents after they married, and the pervading theme is a woman trying to make sense of the world she came from, a rural idyll of half remembered childhood memories, now returned to at a time of deep reflection on life, love and family.

Musically, Pollock retains the melodic chamber-pop elegance of her earlier songwriting, while stretching percussive chops and building an expansive darkness on songs like Old Ghosts. But despite the haunting ruminations on people and places, this is still an album replete with surging moments, from the teenage swagger of Parks and Recreation to the driving guitars of Vacant Stare and the honeyed cruel-to-be-kind advice of In The Company of The Damned. A poignant but punchy triumph then, perfectly timed for mid-winter maladies. [Dan Pillkington] Playing Glasgow’s Òran Mór on 29 Jan as part of Celtic Connections emmapollock.com

January 2016

Then Thickens

Colic [Hatch, 15 Jan]

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There’s plenty of drugs and death on Then Thickens’ second album, and it’s soaked in the damage done by both. My Sunday finds Jon-Lee Martin’s mournful narrator getting fucked up on dope to avoid dealing with the aftermath of tragedy: ‘I saw the smack and the leather / I lost a lot of you that I never knew,’ he sings over pristine chords, and it all feels darkly poignant. If only it didn’t follow Cum Summer’s gnarly sexual metaphors, because there’s nothing to make you go ‘eurgh’ quite like hearing an adult male singing porny juvenilia like, ‘Sip my juice until I’m dry, please.’

Musically, they veer from the near-sublime grandiosity of opener Heaven Alive to the less engaging bluster of My Amsterdam, where hand-me-down Smashing Pumpkins riffs collide with a plodding melody. Colic shoots for the majestically macabre and often comes heroically close, but it’s hard to give yourself to an album that contains the phrase ‘wizard’s sleeve.’ [Will Fitzpatrick]

New View [French Kiss, 22 Jan] Recorded in a converted barn studio near her new home in upstate New York, former Fiery Furnaces frontwoman Eleanor Friedburger’s third solo record is her first following a move from Brooklyn, combining timeless indie pop melodies with her signature lyrical sneakiness.

From the gliding guitar progression of He Didn’t Mention His Mother and the swelling Open Season, New View is a warm and rustic listen, Friedberger dressing sharply drawn narratives in a classic folk sound that makes the album as cosy as an old jumper. Because her songs are so immediately inviting it’s easy to miss Friedberger’s crafty shifts: Because I Asked You is deceptively simple with its jaunty Wurlitzer and doo-wop guitar before the chorus flips the song’s repeated questioning to reveal an earnest appreciation of intimacy.

Like Friedberger’s last two records, one appreciates New View as one does a steady relationship. [Chris Ogden] Playing Glasgow Broadcast on 7 Feb | eleanorfriedberger.com

The Top Five 1

Savages

3

De Rosa

4

Shearwater Jet Plane and Oxbow

5

Hinds Leave Me Alone

Adore Life

2 Daughter How to Disappear

Weem

thenthickens.bandcamp.com

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Credit: Christina Kernohan

Black Sheep Ungoogleable darksmiths NAKED sit down with The Skinny via the internet to break down one of the most hotly anticipated debuts of the coming year

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AKED are a tricky band to introduce. Evasive on such topics as backstory and location, this mysterious outfit strive for the music – and the experience – to be the talking point. Mythologising aside, theirs is a clear voice, scrutinising our changing relationship with technology; with an impending first album, it’s time to hear what they have to say.

2015 was a busy year for the group, signing to Glasgow label LuckyMe, developing their unique live show, and producing their first record. Debut EP Youth Mode, released early in the year, is a smoky, nebulous thing: five tracks of hazy guitar textures and shadowy beats, with the delicate vocal of frontwoman Agnes Gryczkowska bobbing through it like a siren lost at sea. Its unease resonates with a society plagued by FOMO and other social media anxieties.

That theme of technology seems particularly pertinent as we speak to the band via Skype, the day before a special London gig. Now a duo since the recent departure of Grant Campbell, the pair of them – guitarist Alex Johnston, plus Gryczkowska nursing a cold – talk excitedly of their plans and philosophy.

“It’s funny because it seems like quite a long time ago that we released the EP,” says Johnston.

“Feels like it goes so fast and you forget. We’ve been doing a lot of work on the album ­– we’ve been working with Paul Corley, who did 0pn and Tim Hecker’s stuff, and it’s been amazing. We went to New York to record some of the album, and we played Red Bull Music Academy, and Primavera...

We’ve basically just been working on a load of stuff, and testing the water with what we can do live.”

“We always try to incorporate smell, sound, taste, on top of everything else that is happening,” Gryczkowska explains, talking about their upcoming multi-sensory show. “Something that you really walk through and experience and don’t have a second thought.”

Their aim is to “seduce all of the senses”, transcending the traditional gig format easily documented on smartphones and digital media. It’s something that’s always been important to them, ever since their (poorly attended, by the band’s own admission) inaugural show at Sneaky Pete’s some time back, replete with lasers and smoke effects.

Gryczkowska expands: “It gives us an oppor-

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Review

tunity to think about all the different elements and why they’re important to us and what they mean.

For example, picking the type of smell that we’re gonna use has a deeper meaning, depending on the situation and the music. In this case, it’s gonna reflect the sound of the album.”

The as-yet untitled album is slated for release later in the year. The band talk us through it. “It’s an expansion of the sound, moving away from the more dreamlike, dreamscape sound of the first release. It’s more realistic, harsher, violent. It’s as if we’ve taken all the elements which were there on the first EP and we’ve focused in – everything’s been dialled in and become sharper, and more extreme. But at the same time, a lot of the elements – the softness of the human voice, the delicacy of that – are still retained.”

“The most important thing is that the sound has changed,” adds Gryczkowska. “It’s moved away from this more hopeful feeling to being much more about this gradual decay of physicality, emotions, values, and is more focusing on this violent and cold and detached environment we live in. And especially being in a big city, I feel like that’s had an effect on our music. It’s much more anxious and feels much more isolated.”

Before Youth Mode and LuckyMe, NAKED worked with US activist/rapper Mykki Blanco in producing his single Moshin’ in the Front, a much more aggressive track than their EP. Will the album share that level of bite? In part, says Johnston, but only in that “it’s much heavier, it’s much more distorted.”

Does this mean the album will then perhaps align more with the dark, hip-hop-influenced electronics that their label is known for? This prompts a din of unanimous disagreement. “We’re pretty much the black sheep of LuckyMe,” says Johnston.

It’s certainly rare for the predominantly electronic label to sign a group like NAKED, though they’re not quite the first band on their books.

“There was American Men,” Gryczkowska explains, referring to the synthy post-rock four-piece signed in 2010. “We’re the first... um, whatever you’d call it...”

“Pop group,” deadpans Johnston, and they both laugh.

In their lyrics, and on social media, the band spotlight a wariness of contemporary technology,

Interview: George Sully

but are keen to stress an impartial view. “Technology, obviously, is paramount to the human race, throughout time. It always has a cultural impact,” says Johnston.

“There’s a symbiosis between the technosphere and biosphere,” explains Gryczkowska. “We don’t ever want to take a stand where we say, ‘This isn’t good.’ We’re not against, we’re not pro, we’re just observing this current moment where technology’s playing a big effect on our physicalities.”

NAKED are more interested in the visceral impact it has on people’s lives, insisting they’re not an ‘internet band’. “People sing about cars and girls, why not about the important things?”

“That’s played a big role in our visual language, because it’s such a big part of our everyday existence,” Gryczkowska adds. “Technology’s becoming like a prosthetic, becoming almost a part of our body. This is something we’re interested in as well, aesthetically: symbiosis and juxtaposition of fleshlike and techlike.

“ People sing about cars and girls, why not about the important things?”

NAKED

“Also, that takes us back to why we want to do certain things with our live show. On the one hand, the distribution of music and art and images etc over the internet is so easy now, but at the same time we are trying to create a situation which is very much a live situation where you actually experience all of these impacts, physically, on your own body, via hand and mouth and not via a glass screen.”

We draw some parallels between fanatical techno-consumerism and religion. “It’s funny that you’re saying this,” Gryczkowska replies, “because we’re actually using the smell of church for the show tomorrow for that reason. What is religion now? It’s changed so much; this is what our reli-

MUSIC

gion is. Our phones are our religion.” NAKED even suggest phones are a modern day crucifix round our necks.

The promotional imagery for some of their recent gigs use an iPhone with a cracked screen.

It’s indicative of our reliance on smartphones that just the sight of it triggers a deep-rooted unease.

“This is actually what we were thinking about,” says Gryczkowska. “You get this instantaneous fear that your screen cracks...” They’d taken inspiration from some viral YouTube videos of someone repeatedly destroying their iPhone 6 to the extent of almost fetishising the act.

Though the band are now working out of London, there was a time when they were considered an Edinburgh-based group. Is geography really not relevant to them, as artists? “Oh yeah, definitely,” Johnston answers. “It’s weird when you go and see interviews and the first thing they say about people is that they’re like, ‘They’re an American or like Liberian-based band’ or something like that.

I don’t understand what the point in it is.” The band insist they’re internationalists by nature.

“And soundwise we don’t want to be associated with any sort of geographical location either,” adds Gryczkowska. “It’s more about actual human values and physical emotions rather than any sort of pre-known information about where we’re from, or where we went to school etc etc, because it’s irrelevant.”

Hence the band’s name? “The word itself is very much about being fragile and human,” she explains, “completely exposed and unable to protect yourself from everything that’s around you.”

“It’s like a Rorschach test,” posit the band.

“Everybody reads into it what they can. Some people see it as being fragile, and other people see it as being bold or crass or whatever. It’s like a mirror.

For a band, it’s the most decontextualised word you could come up with.”

Three to Hear…

From Sydney to Liverpool here are a few more under the radar debuts to brace yourself for in 2016 From The Kites of San Quentin From The Kites of San Quentin have been making shape shifting electronic music operating between hip-hop, jazz and electronica for over a half a decade in Manchester, lurking in the shadows while the city’s central narrative has taken place. However, after a number of EPs and split releases, 2016 is finally the year the trio are promising something more full-length with the group hinting in a handful of intimate shows last summer a wholly more cohesive direction than anything they’ve previously put together. [Simon Jay Catling] Cavalier Song The carefully-sculpted avant-noise of Cavalier Song is worth keeping ears open for: they’re an enticing oddity, drawing from fragmented imagery, the wildest of moodswings, and expansive contractions of tense yet immersive sound. Flashes of Glen Branca and Rhys Chatham emerge among the residual sunspots, but the results are always approachable, even at their most deafening. Debut LP Blezard is set to drop through God Unknown Records in late February, and it’s certain to be a cracker. [Will Fitzpatrick] Matt Corby Straddling the strange ground between teen heartthrob (as a kid he was runner-up in Australian Idol) and serious indie artist, Telluric – Matt Corby’s long awaited debut – arrives in March on the back of a series of EPs and plenty of well-received live shows. Now based in LA, there’s a Californian slacker rock vibe to his material, but it’s the voice that elevates him way above talent show TV fodder.

[Duncan Harman] facebook.com/welcometonkd

THE SKINNY

Art News Bargain Spot sees its last exhibition in its current space this month, while Transmission schedules three artist talks, and established painter Merlin James exhibits new work in the CCA

Credit: Christopher Macinnes

Words: Adam Benmakhlouf

Christopher MacInnes Generator Projects

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Upon entering Generator Projects’ newly refurbished collective/members’ space, you are greeted by a series of strange sounds announcing Christopher MacInnes’s show. Stepping behind a heavy black curtain and out of the warm member’s space, it’s dark and cold. A large projection dominates the main wall of the gallery. The sounds become clearer now, a clarion call of the postinternet age forming the soundtrack to a swooping journey through electrical circuit boards and strange fields of solar panels underneath a brooding, stormy sky.

These physical locations form the sites of existence for our online lives, bringing to mind a sort of Blade Runner aesthetic. This large video work creates a sense of vertigo as you stand and the view glides along strange columns stretching into infinity.

Delaying Tactics

House for an Art Lover

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The Japo-Scandi style of this renovated stable house is thematic to the ideas of multicultural heritage that form the foundations of group show Delaying Tactics.

Engaging with the heritage of the space, Christina Garriga’s deconstruction of Rennie Mackintosh furniture is beautifully designed and spatially appropriate. It unites the narrative of

The confrontation of the initial room subsides as you go through into the larger of the two spaces. A cleverly positioned projector and mirror reflect the image of a tree canopy onto a flat screen hanging above head level. A freestanding panel hosts another large projection, but this time the visuals are of a dystopian rainforest inhabited by futuristic pink screens. The soundtrack to this work consists of a disembodied voice spouting odd yet calming sentences about the future of our engagement with the digital world. For comfort, there are a few beanbags to sit on and gaze up at the canopy of this postinternet forest.

Throughout MacInnes’s considered installation, even the projectors’ wires echo the vines of his invented landscape. His work brings to mind questions about our presence in the digital world, from his unravelling of the physical location of digital activity to what could be read as a glimpse into a potential future. [Kieran Milne] Small Gate, Infinite Field by Christopher MacInnes, exhibition closed.

third generation multiculturalism with Glaswegian localism. Its constructed organic qualities suit the space, and Emil Lillo’s frankincense-infused, painted woodwork ng-o-ng has a textured oil slick quality that carries through this theme.

Equally spatially sensitive and inspired by an early 20th century photo, the expressive and skilled wooden bust sculpture of Birthe Jorgensen’s The Rutherian Woman possesses a melancholic depth.

With its own narrative of lost roots and fading cultural identity, the carved figure disappears into the woodblock around her. Its interplay with Jasper Coppes’ Rock Dust advances the narrative to one of erosion and regeneration, of Govan Viking gravestones that have been cast and recreated in eco-materials.

There is, however, a difficult inconsistency with the inclusion of a series of gaudy prints of blue and pink bearing the letter 's' in gold. They come as a distraction from the organic atmosphere of the rest of the exhibition, but without much effect.

Conor Cooke’s work, however, makes for an interesting linguistic purgatory in his lesson plans for teaching a rare language. Making the exclusive engaging, though their presentation is somewhat lacking, he evokes a bodily reaction by creating “friction under the tongue”.

In all cases, Birthe Jorgensen commissioned works by her fellow graduates from the Glasgow School of Art’s Sculptural MLitt. There are moments when this shared educational background can’t quite carry the group show as an organising rationale. For the most part, however, the works together contribute to a convincing narrative.

[Isabella Shields]

Ulla von Brandenburg, Baisse-toi Montagne, Lève-toi Vallon, 2015

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hy not start the year with some art events and openings? In Edinburgh, Embassy open their new show setBackground on 15 Jan from 7-10pm. This will include a new online work by Sebastian Schmieg, (also a part of the relaunch of the Embassy website designed by London-based painter Hannah Knights) – working in Berlin, Schmieg uses found materials and custom software as materials to examine the way contemporary technologies shape online and offline realities. setBackground continues until 31 Jan. Staying in Edinburgh, on 15 Jan between 6-8pm, Bargain Spot Project Space returns to 12 Earl Grey Street for a preview of another show, entitled Objects from the Temperate Palm House.

Curators Chloe Reith and Kirsty White have put together a group of international artists with objects from the archive of the Royal Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh, with the show running from 16 Jan-27 Feb. The next week, painter Merlin James presents Long Game, an exhbition containing new works and others from throughout his career. Across his painting and writing practices, James’ work is conscious of painting as both a medium and a means of bringing art history into view. His easel works, for example, use this established and recognisable genre specifically to work with its historical associations, and take seriously the material elements of painting: form, colour, composition, tone. More recently, James has begun to make considered frames and small objects from canvas and wooden stretchers, and as additions to the painted works. Long Game previews at Glasgow’s CCA on 22 Jan, 7-9pm, running until 13 Mar. From 23 Jan in the Glasgow Sculpture Studios, there is a new exhibition: The Transparent Tortoiseshell and the Un-ripe Banana. All the artists included in this group show have an interest in positioning their sculptural work within a space more conventionally reserved for still life painting. Between them, they use everyday objects to make compositions and assemblages that, in their own words, ‘play with our sense of what those objects are commonly used or known for.’ As well as interest in the common ground of painting and sculpture, there is a sense across all the artists included that the work is not static or that it implies some ‘live activation.’ The Transparent Tortoiseshell and the Un-Ripe Banana continues until 5 Mar.

Throughout January, Transmission in Glasgow has organised three artist talks – times TBA, so keep an eye on their new website (transmissiongallery.org). First off is Andrew Black on 16 Jan: in recent performances, he presents written texts that undercut and complicate his own voice with self-questioning and doubt. Informed by queer readings and politics, he frustrates any easy assumption of subjectivity or selfhood. Then, on 23 Jan, Dianne Torr discusses her career in performance, dance and ‘physical philosophy.’ During 30 years in New York, she has refined her artistic career as part of the downtown art scene. Lastly, on 28 Jan, Erica Scourti will deliver a talk on her video-based practice, in which she refers to self-subjectification processes. One particular strategy she uses is a self-satirisation within her performances.

Rounding off the month, Glasgow’s Common Guild presents its first event of the year in Langside Hall. Sink Down Mountain, Rise Up Valley, by renowned German artist Ulla von Brandenburg, bases itself on the rituals of the Saint-Simonian Commune, founded immediately after the French Revolution. Its radical and progressive commitment to destroy all privilege informs von Brandenburg’s ‘play for five actors and a chorus’ ethos. Tickets are available from thecommonguild.eventbrite.co.uk, price £8(5), and performances will take place 30 and 31 Jan, 6pm.

Merlin James, House on a Hill

Delaying Tactics, until 17 Jan

January 2016

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CCA Highlights

Clubbing Highlights

Artists, musicians and documentarians mobilise against the January blues: we select some gems for the disenfranchised from the CCA's bulging brochure

January blues hitting home? Not to worry: clubland has the answer, as Jackmaster, Blue Hour and David Rodigan bring their wildly-differing but equally vital wares to Scotland

Words: George Sully

Words: Will Fitzpatrick and Ronan Martin Illustration: Jacky Sheridan

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t is now the year 2016, which is, certifiably, the future. We may only have motorised handle-free segways instead of flying cars, but at this rate we’ll take what we can get – Cameron’s Britain and all that. In fact, the state of the world is leaving many despairing – Biff may well actually end up being president of the free world after all, if America isn’t careful – and as we venture into yet another year, where can we turn for reflection, inspiration or empowerment? You’ve read the headline to this article: Glasgow’s CCA, that’s where.

We kick off our recommendations with a halcyonic triple bill of Scottish folk artists, playing together at the annual winter music festival Celtic Connections. In conjunction with BBC Radio Scotland, the CCA has played host to many top festival acts (all broadcast live, too) over the years, with our man about town Vic Galloway bringing a special selection as part of his own show. This year he referees emerging folk bros JR Green, lissom trad-rock outfit Trembling Bells, and autumnal maestro C Duncan (Mon 18 Jan).

But, it can’t all be sweet folk melodies. As an emerging voice for the dispossessed, bitter punkslash-hip-hop duo Sleaford Mods have enjoyed a growing buzz in recent years, thanks to their incendiary, topical lyrics and energetic live performances. Invisible Britain (Sat 30 Jan) is a documentary of their 2015 tour around some of the country’s most neglected areas, blending gig videos with insightful interviews, attempting to highlight the far-reaching and arguably overlooked effects of our current government.

For activism of a more international sensibility, the University of Glasgow-funded GRAMNet (Glasgow Refugee, Asylum and Migration Network) brings together ‘researchers, practitioners and policy makers working with migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Scotland,’ and draws together regular talks, film screenings and workshops.

In February we’ve picked out two highlights: the first is Palestinian Embroidery: Empowering Women and Strengthening Communities (Glasgow Women’s Library, Tue 9 Feb). Focusing on the rich heritage of domestic textile techniques, passed down through generations of Palestinian women, designer Claire Anderson is running a series of workshops culminating in a final exhibition. These sessions are for women only, but open to all skill levels.

The second is a screening of the equally empowering documentary Queens of Syria (Wed 10 Feb), part of Hidden Stories, the latest edition of the Film Series organised by GRAMNet at BEMIS Scotland (a national body supporting ethnic minorities). In 2013, 50 Syrian refugee women came together in Jordan to perform a retelling of Euripides’ ancient tragedy The Trojan Women, a play following the fates of grieving, exiled wives after the sack of Troy. This award-winning film relates the rehearsals before the final performance, and is a moving, often harrowing insight into these women’s experiences, with many conscious parallels drawn between the source text and their contemporary circumstances.

And though not at all explicitly political, we must recommend this last show. Emmie McLuskey and former Skinny Showcase artist Mary Wintour team up for I Thought You Knew (Sat 13 Feb-Sat 5 Mar, not Mon-Wed), an exhibition of sculpture and painting (respectively), informed by the pair’s previous collaborations. Both investigate the effects of recontextualising everyday, domestic objects and situations, and together create a ‘shared, underlining narrative between works.’

McLuskey explores the sculptural interplay between colour, form, and the implicit stories in everyday materials, while Wintour’s painting transposes the familiar into the unfamiliar, inspired in part by the constructed realities (and pregnant inertia) of film set stills.

Palestinian Embroidery; Empowering Women and Strengthening Communities

January 2016

2

016, eh? With another brand new year in full swing, it’s tempting to get caught up in responsible, ostensibly self-improving activities like sobriety, watching the pennies, and maybe even renewing that gym membership you abandoned halfway through... well, last January, actually. But why let this be at the expense of your social life?

This is traditionally a quieter month, but there’s still some must-attend events scattered across the Scottish clubland. Let’s investigate.

Let’s start off in Glasgow, and with a few words from Numbers founder Jackmaster: “I’m reaching the milestone 30 years of age in January,” he tells us, “which is fucking pish. To numb the pain I’ve rented out the whole of SWG3 for a riot of epic proportions.” He’s not kidding either: Jackmaster’s 30th Birthday is packed to the brim with stuff you won’t wanna miss, from dubstep pioneer Skream to Bristol house hero Eats Everything (promising a “strictly hardcore” set) to the city’s own Denis Sulta, whose latest album It’s Only Real is a firm favourite among The Skinny’s Clubs team (head to theskinny.com/clubs to catch last month’s interview with the man himself). There’s a host of other excellent DJs on the bill covering a pretty broad base, including Jackmaster himself working the room alongside Optimo Trax alumnus Jasper James.

Yessir, this’ll be a biggie (SWG3, 10 Jan, £10/£15).

The good folks at Animal Farm have lined up Berlin-based techno wunderkind Blue Hour at Sub Club a few days later – Luke Standing (for it is he) has made a name for himself thanks to some impressive DJ sets across Europe, and he’ll be bringing the noise alongside AF regulars Quail and Turtle (Sub Club, 15 Jan, £5/£8otd). Still on a techno tip, Code bring Madrid’s Kwartz to Glasgow the following day, with support from their own Nick Morrow.

With the buzz surrounding Kwartz’s ongoing series

ART / CLUBS

of EPs and 12"s getting ever-louder, this is a good time to catch a fast-rising talent (La Cheetah, 16 Jan, £6 early bird/£10).

Over in Edinburgh, J. Tijn pays a visit to The Mash House on 15 Jan. Having absorbed the influence of grime and dubstep in the mid-00s, his approach to techno is thoroughly idiosyncratic and furiously energetic; catch this three-hour slot with support from SLVR residents (Mash House, 15 Jan, £6/£8). And once you reach that heroic last weekend of the month – that sweet, sweet January payday Friday after weeks of destitution and wondering how many days you can stretch a packet of Super Noodles over – Glasgow stalwarts Optimo come to The Dissection Room at Summerhall for a one-off set. Renowned for their expansive and immersive sets, they’ll be tearing the roof off the place with a little help from Auld Reekie’s own techno hero Neil Landstrumm and enigmatic newcomer Mr TC, who forms one third of the Night of the Jaguar crew (Summerhall, 29 Jan, £10).

Dundee has a good ‘un planned for the middle of the month: Phazed bring Kevin Gorman, aka Adesse Versions to the Reading Rooms.With a clutch of releases stacked up for the likes of Numbers and Cocoon, and an impressive Boiler Room session racking up the hits online, his cut’n’paste approach to house adds up to a night worth getting your hair all mussed up for (Reading Rooms, 15 an, £8).

Finally, it’s possibly worth taking a trip to Aberdeen at the end of the month as dub plate supremo David Rodigan makes his debut in the city. With some mighty impressive bass at his disposal, and Giles Walker and DJ Please in the mix to boot, this one is not to be missed (Underdog, 29 Jan, £10).

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Film Event Highlights This month's film column begins and ends with a trivia question. In between there's the best of January's film happenings, including a chance to experience Rotterdam Film Festival from the comfort of your local cinema.

Words: Jamie Dunn

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ere’s a good pub quiz question: which director received the most Best Director Oscar nominations? Steven Spielberg? John Ford? The answer, surprisingly, is William Wyler – although it’s not that surprising when you look through his filmography, which includes Ben-Hur, The Little Foxes and Roman Holiday. DCA are paying tribute to this impeccable craftsman with a mini-season of some of his rarely-screened movies: Dodsworth (22 Jan), The Best Days of Our Lives (23 Jan) and The Children’s Hour (24 Jan).

The Assassin

Youth

The Assassin

Youth

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Director: Hou Hsiao-Hsien Starring: Shu Qi, Chang Chen, Mei Fang, Shao-Huai Chang Released: 22 Jan Certificate: 12A How good is Hou Hsiao-Hsien? In his new film, The Assassin, even the wind seems to adhere to his unerring direction. Every frame of Hou’s gorgeously crafted film is a masterclass in composition, colour, movement and sound, and the film’s steady pacing gives us the time to drink in his images and to lose ourselves in this world.

The Assassin could probably be described as an action film, although it is an action film defined by stillness, with the violence exploding in brief, exhilarating and brilliantly choreographed sequences. Hou uses his actors as a key part of the mise-en-scène, with Shu Qi and Chang Chen having little dialogue but proving to be mesmerising presences, and Hou takes a similarly minimalist approach to his storytelling.

The Assassin’s narrative is perhaps more opaque than it needs to be, but the film is rewarding for patient and attentive viewers, and even those who do feel lost will appreciate the rare comfort of being in the hands of an absolute master at the very peak of his powers. [Philip Concannon] Released by StudioCanal

Director: Paolo Sorrentino Starring: Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, Paul Dano Released: 29 Jan Certificate: 15 Paolo Sorrentino’s follow-up to his widely and vociferously acclaimed The Great Beauty is a similarly odd fish to that 2014 Academy Award winner.

A surreal look at mortality, and the frustrations of artistic integrity, love and longing, what bewitches is the cool exactitude of the imagery, and the desertdry drollery of the tremendous cast Sorrentino has assembled. It’s an approach that evokes a slightly more accessible and full-blooded Roy Andersson, as one strange, beautiful scene follows another.

Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel have great chemistry as the best pals – a master composer and filmmaker, respectively – holed-up in a swanky Swiss sanatorium pontificating on both the great dramas and banalities of their wellworn lives. It’s all terribly arch and mannered, but Sorrentino throws broad philosophical quandaries and quirky ephemera at the screen with equal care and, even though the whole thing threatens to become a bit too omphalosceptic for its own good in a tête-à-tête between Keitel and a cameoing star late on, it’s difficult to resist that sparkling wit and glorious aesthetic design.

[Chris Fyvie] Released by StudioCanal

Bear Island

Cinema and TV have painted Scandinavia as the home of dark deeds and frumpy jumpers, but the fourth edition of Nordic Film Festival, which returns to GFT, looks free from these clichés. Thrillseeking doc Bear Island (5 Jan), for example, follows three suffing-nuts and Armi Alive! (26 Jan) is a stylistic portrayal of Finland’s most stylish woman, Armi Ratia. 7 Sámi Stories (19 Jan), meanwhile, is exactly what its title suggests – seven lyrical shorts about Norway’s Sámi people. The only downer of the quartet looks to be Scandinavian film In Your Arms (12 Jan), a romance between a terminally-ill young man and his nurse, but we all need a little Scandi miserablism sometimes.

Edinburgh film fans will be rejoicing the return of Screening Europe, Filmhouse’s great European cinema season, which kicks off in 2016 with Jarman’s The Tempest (26 Jan). Filmhouse also have a trio of films from another European master filmmaker, Jean-Luc Godard. As well as the recently re-released Le Mépris (22-25 Jan) the cinema also has a double-bill of two of Godard’s most loved films: Vivre Sa Vie and Bande à Part (31 Jan).

Rotterdam has always been the most forwardlooking of the big international film festivals, so it’s no surprise to see it reaching out to a global audience with IFFR Live, which sees several of the festival’s events being broadcast simultaneously to cinemas across Europe, including Glasgow Film Festival. The three premieres showing at GFT are Tunisian film As I Open My Eyes (29 Jan), psychological drama Préjudice (30 Jan) and Paula Ortiz’s latest film, The Bride (31 Jan), based on the play Blood Wedding by Federico García Lorca.

Finally, a little western called The Hateful Eight mosies into cinemas on 8 Jan. To get you prepped for Quentin Tarantino’s latest, GFT are taking us back to the early 90s, screening the two films that made his name, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, backto-back on 3 Jan. During the double-bill’s interval, you’ve the chance to show off your QT knowledge with a quiz delightfully called “Quentin Tarantrivia!”

Here’s a little warm up. Q: What’s in the briefcase in Pulp Fiction? A: A light bulb.

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Review

The Revenant

Room

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Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter, Domhnall Gleeson, Forrest Goodluck Released: 15 Jan Certificate: 15

Director: Lenny Abrahamson Starring: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen, Tom McCamus, Sean Bridgers Released: 15 Jan Certificate: 15

There’s a gripping 90-minute survival thriller buried somewhere within The Revenant’s 156 minutes, but Iñárritu was never going to make that movie. His film has flashes of brilliance, notably the stunningly effective bear attack that leaves Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) incapacitated, and the whole film is elevated by Emmanuel Lubezki’s typically spellbinding naturallight cinematography, but the film just grinds the viewer down. Overburdened by flashbacks and symbolic inserts, The Revenant becomes a real slog in its second hour, with the heavy-handed direction ensuring that what should be poetic and transcendent instead feels ponderous and self-regarding.

DiCaprio suffers manfully in the lead role, but there’s only so much he can do with this limited character, and instead it’s supporting players like Tom Hardy and Will Poulter who draw the eye and leave us wanting more. In the final stretches of the film we are supposed to feel the presence of God, but as DiCaprio’s desperate breathing fogs up the camera, we only feel the presence of the director. For Alejandro González Iñárritu, maybe that amounts to the same thing. [Philip Concannon]

Joy (Larson) and her five-year-old son, Jack (Tremblay), live in Room. To the mother, it’s a prison cell barely two meters square; for the son, it’s the whole universe.

Lenny Abrahamson’s film is a beautiful and humane response to inhumanity. The versatile Irish filmmaker (Garage, Frank) cannily presents the world from Jack’s point of view, placing the camera at his eye level and keeping the framing tight to introduce us to his tiny world. Jack is happy in his ignorance, but every close up of the haunted Larson brings us back to reality.

Abrahamson works wonders with the actors, getting one of the all-time great child performances from Tremblay, whose vivid voiceover and air of sheltered kookiness can’t have come easy. Equally compelling is Larson, who’s constantly communicating several conflicting emotions at once. If there’s one flaw, it’s an over-reliance on Stephen Rennicks’ score. We don’t need to hear cloying piano chords to perceive Jack’s wonder at the world or feel Joy’s pain, we just need to glimpse the faces of the actors playing them. [Jamie Dunn]

Spotlight

Sleeping with Other People

Director: Tom McCarthy Starring: Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci, John Slattery Released: 29 Jan Certificate: 15

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There’s nothing flashy or attention-grabbing about Spotlight. Tom McCarthy’s film about The Boston Globe’s sensational 2002 exposé of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church eschews any obvious dramatic hooks to stick rigidly to the facts. This approach pays dividends as Spotlight develops a compelling momentum and accumulative emotional weight through McCarthy’s intelligent storytelling, the nimble editing of Tom McArdle and the shrewd, modestly scaled performances from the actors, all of whom fit perfectly into this true ensemble piece.

Spotlight is simultaneously an inspiring celebration of great journalism and a powerful indictment of the widespread complicity that allows such abuse to flourish; “It takes a village to raise a child,” one character states, and “it takes a village to abuse one.” McCarthy’s direction is focused but undistinguished, and viewers may occasionally yearn for the visual expressiveness that Gordon Willis brought to All the President’s Men, but it’s hard to resist getting caught up in the film’s rhythm and it ultimately proves to be a worthy successor to Pakula’s classic tale. [Philip Concannon]

FILM

Released by StudioCanal

Director: Leslye Headland Starring: Jason Sudeikis, Alison Brie, Adam Scott, Amanda Peet, Released: Out now Certificate: 15

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It’s hard to settle on a low point of this scumbag manifesto from writer-director Leslye Headland, but one scene in particular springs to mind. It involves two adults openly discussing their sexual predilections as they browse a department store, the pair’s unconventional dynamic provoking looks of shock, discomfort and awe among the staff. It’s far from the crassest or most nauseating sequence in Sleeping with Other People, yet it perfectly encapsulates the film’s self-satisfied, shit-eating countenance; Headland asserts that certain subjects should be addressed publicly, while grossly overplaying their capacity to shock in a manner that’s both out of touch and ultimately self-defeating.

There’s a degree of innovation in the narrative, a will-they-won’t-they between best friends who lost their virginity to each other over a decade previously, but there’s no mistaking traces of conventional Hollywood sexism in the film’s DNA. Jason Sudeikis assaults our senses as a vapid narcissist with whom only a genocidal Woody Allen could empathise, while Alison Brie is wasted as the lingerie-sporting waif in need of his rescue. [Lewis Porteous] Released by Icon

THE SKINNY

Recession + Time = Comedy Will Ferrell’s regular collaborator Adam McKay gets serious with The Big Short, a star-studded and angry look back at the financial meltdown of 2008. We’re pleased to report his latest film still has plenty of laughs. McKay talks comedy and the crash

“L

ook, this isn’t that complicated,” Adam McKay tells The Skinny. “They had these mortgage-backed securities, they were making billions, they ran out of good mortgages, they put crappy ones in.” We’re sitting in a hotel room in central London, and the director of Anchorman is explaining the 2008 financial crash with the efficiency and calm authority of a man who has run through this speech countless times. “That’s it,” he adds with a chuckle. “Like, I just said it in thirty seconds.”

Explaining the cataclysmic financial collapse of seven years ago in an understandable and humorous manner is exactly what McKay is attempting to do with The Big Short. His film is an adaptation of Michael Lewis’s acclaimed non-fiction book and it focuses on a handful of characters who saw the cracks appearing before anyone else did. Investors like the socially awkward Michael Burry (Christian Bale) and the permanently riled Mark Baum (Steve Carell) were viewed as misfits and outsiders by Wall Street high rollers, but when everything fell apart they made a fortune. Their simple but risky gambit was to bet against the banks, and then sit back until the foundations of the entire American housing market crumbled.

The 47-year-old filmmaker was drawn to the book because of its intriguing central question:

“What had our culture become that millions of people, and actually millions of brilliant experts, didn’t see any of this? That was so intriguing and it had such a mystery to it.”

McKay knew he could make The Big Short work as a film as soon as he read it, despite its author’s own suggestion that it was ‘unfilmable.’ “The only real question was the information,” says McKay. “I made the decision that I was actually going to explain the collapse, that you’re going to actually hear all the esoterica, and then I quite simply said, ‘Screw it, I’m going to break the fourth wall.’”

That fourth wall is broken in a variety of ways throughout the film. Ryan Gosling’s slick banker Jared Vennett is our guide, frequently interrupting scenes to address the audience directly, while the complex machinations of the banking world are delivered by celebrities like Margot Robbie and Selena Gomez, appearing as themselves to tell us how sub-prime mortgages or collateralised debt obligations work.

If this all feels like a far cry from McKay’s work with Will Ferrell, perhaps we shouldn’t be so surprised. All McKay’s films have had satirical elements, although you were probably too busy laughing to notice. “We were trying with The Other Guys to do a comedy parable of the collapse,” he recalls.

“We had this idea that we were going to do a silly

Day of the Outlaw

Director: André de Toth Starring: Robert Ryan, Tina Louise, Burl Ives, David Nelson, Alan Marshal, Released: Out now Certificate: PG

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André de Toth’s gorgeous black-and-white noir-tinged western, shot in 1959, is a terrific example of early genre interrogation that precedes the more commonly celebrated revisionist films of Sam Peckinpah, Clint Eastwood or Robert Altman. Here, quarrelling homesteaders on a small snowbound Wyoming settlement find their bickering is unimportant when a band of outlaws, fleeing both the cavalry and a howling storm, ride in and seize control.

Filming on a shoestring budget, in freezing conditions, de Toth makes full use of the elements as the locals scheme to overcome their captors. A fistfight in the snow is filmed mostly in sublime long shots that illustrate the ultimate insignificance of combatants dwarfed by an overwhelming landscape. Things come to a head when Robert Ryan’s curmudgeonly hero realises nature’s savage indifference and bravely endeavours to lead his foes straight into her path. [Tom Grieve]

Interview: Philip Concannon

comedy that also sort of mirrored Madoff. With Anchorman 2 we obviously wanted to criticise the ratings-driven and profit-driven news media. But with the big laugh-out-loud comedies it’s very tricky to get a point of view in because the laughs dominate so much. That’s what was so refreshing about this movie: I don’t feel like it’s a pure comedy and I don’t feel like it’s a pure drama, and that was incredible.”

“ If Trump becomes President you'll see a million people leave the US” Adam McKay

Fans of his broader work shouldn’t worry, however. McKay hasn’t turned his back on that world and he dismisses any talk of frustration that comedy doesn’t earn the respect of more serious fare

(such as his Oscar-touted current film). “If anyone asks if we are ghettoised, I just say we don’t care because we have so much fun making them,” he says. “I remember three weeks after Step Brothers came out I was walking down the street and I heard three separate people quoting the movie in a six-block stretch in New York City; it’s the coolest experience in the world.”

Can The Big Short permeate the culture in the same way? It’s an angry movie, and McKay wants people to come out of the cinema being angry about what they have seen. “Here’s the good news,” he says. “We screened this movie in far-off suburbs and cineplexes, and people responded to it. People were mad, and you could feel it.”

McKay is hoping the film encourages an open and productive discourse, although he is warily eyeing another potential disaster on the horizon.

“The real crash would be if Donald Trump became President. I think if Trump becomes President you’ll see a million people leave the US, I really do.”

They say comedy is tragedy plus time, and McKay has already shown us that he can get laughs from a financial meltdown; but maybe some things really are beyond a joke.

The Big Short is released 22 Jan by Paramount

The Second Mother

The Quiet Man

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Director: Anna Muylaert Starring: Regina Casé, Michel Joelsas, Released: 11 Jan Certificate:

Contradictions are the order of the day in Anna Muylaert’s subversive yet heartwarming The Second Mother. The tone is a deft balance between class drama and gentle comedy, while tradition and progress push and pull ceaselessly at its centre. The balance is encapsulated by Val (Casé), a strong, independent protagonist whose sacrifices uphold a status quo that provides a roof over her head, but equally acts as a ceiling to keep her in her place.

Respectful of the family that employ her as a live-in maid, and adored by their son – hence the title – Val’s life is shaken up when her smart, and equally smart-mouthed, daughter, Jessica (Camila Márdila), arrives in town and refuses to abide by the unspoken rules.

As Jessica becomes the catalyst for changes to the household dynamic, Val’s is a moving story of personal and private triumphs. It’s a joy to watch. [Ben Nicholson]

Director: John Ford Starring: John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Released: Out now Certificate: U

Sean Thornton (Wayne) arrives in his familial home of Inisfree to trade the bustle of the States for the sleepy charms of the Emerald Isle. He’s allured and bewildered in equal measure by the locals’ quaint ways and antiquated values, making him a pretty ideal avatar for anyone watching The Quiet Man today. And just as Thornton ultimately comes to find more to love than hate in the old-fashioned oddness of his new neighbours, Ford’s film remains highly endearing even as it shows its age.

It’s a true Sunday-afternoon American classic, rife with casual misogyny, hammy acting and slapstick humour, but with that oldschool Hollywood sparkle in its eye. Stepping back from the epic Western landscapes, Ford’s skills as a filmmaker flourish just as easily in this humbler setting, crafting a film filled with gorgeous shots without a single wasted frame. [Ross McIndoe]

A New Leaf

Ricki and the Flash

Love

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Director: Elaine May Starring: Elaine May, Walter Matthau, Released: Out now Certificate: U

In a video essay accompaning this release, critic David Cairns laments A New Leaf’s unremarkable box office performance. Had Elaine May's debut taken off, he argues, it could have established the writerdirector-star as cinema’s first female clown auteur. As things transpired, she immediately fell out of favour with Paramount and was never again granted full project control. Though her subsequent work offers tantalising glimpses of a unique comic voice, nowhere else would it seem so fully formed.

Here May pays homage to the screwball comedies of the 30s and 40s, but maintains a disconcertingly lackadaisical pace of her own.

It’s great fun to watch Walter Matthau play against type as a spoilt trust fund kid s as he plots to restore his fortune by marrying and murdering an uncouth heiress – but it’s the versatile and inventive May that both he and the audience fall for. [Lewis Porteous]

January 2016

Director: Jonathan Demme Starring: Meryl Streep, Mamie Gummer, Released: Out now Certificate: 12

Working from a screenplay by Diablo Cody, Ricki and the Flash feels like a compendium of director Jonathan Demme’s career trademarks.

In set-up and execution, it comes across as a blend of his sorely underrated Rachel Getting Married and his various rock docs, with a pinch of Something Wild. Ricki star Meryl Streep doesn’t don a massive white suit à la David Byrne in Stop Making Sense, sadly.

Streep (on point with her most fun lead turn in years) is a bankrupt musician given a chance to reconnect with the family she abandoned for dreams of stardom. Kevin Kline plays the while Streep’s real-life progeny, Gummer, doubles as her onscreen daughter, who’s expressing suicidal urges following her recent divorce.

Ricki’s not a patch on those earlier-cited works, but few films so heavy on bickering are as relaxing as this deceptively slight gem from one of American cinema’s great humanists. [Josh Slater-Willams]

FILM / DVDS

Director: Gaspar Noé Starring: Karl Glusman, Aomi Muyock, Released: 11 Jan Certificate: 18

“My biggest dream is to make a movie that truly depicts sentimental sexuality,” says Murphy (Glusman), the protagonist of Love. Murphy is clearly a Noé avatar, and this movie is his dream come true, with the many sex scenes being staged and shot with an intimacy, frankness and skill that is worth celebrating. It’s a shame about everything else.

Once again, Noé has paid more attention to technique than performance, and his characters here are blanks, whose romantic interactions consist of dumb platitudes and whose fights become interminable screaming matches; 135 minutes is long time to spend inside a head this empty. While there’s perhaps something selfmocking in Noé’s approach, he’s not self-aware or smart enough to pull off much of what he attempts, with a scene involving a trans prostitute marking a new low. You can watch Love in 3D, but it won’t add any dimensions to the characters or script. [Philip Concannon]

Review

45

Curtains Up We pick out some of the expected highlights in Scotland’s theatres in the first half of the new year

Credit: Mihaela Bodlovic

Words: Emma Ainley-Walker

Tracks of the Winter Bear

Traverse, Edinburgh

W

ith a new year comes a new crop of theatre lined up for the year ahead, or at least for the next five months. January is always a little quieter for theatre as the pantos wind down, but the Traverse Theatre kick things off at the end of the month with Manipulate festival, which you can read more about elsewhere in the magazine. Also in January, The Lyceum are in the midst of their 50th birthday season, opening their 2016 programme with The Weir, directed by Amanda Gaughan.

In February, the Citizens Theatre are producing the classic Beckett work Endgame, with the leads taken by David Neilson and Chris Gascoyne, both of Coronation Street and both regulars to the stage. Meanwhile, the National Theatre of Scotland are bringing back their critically acclaimed James Plays. The trilogy jumps from Edinburgh to Australia before returning for a UK tour in March and April. With this their tenth birthday year, the company are celebrating past-loved plays as well as embarking on exciting new work.

The Tron theatre company are producing Mike Bartlett’s Cock, with its first UK staging since its Royal Court premiere six years ago. This play exploring sexuality is certainly one for the modern age, and Andy Arnold’s direction is sure to bring this to the forefront, raising interesting questions about what is really important in relationships.

Mark Thomas’ Trespass will be touring to Dundee Rep in early March after dates in Stirling and Falkirk, hitting the Tron in Glasgow in April.

The Mark Brew Company will be taking For Now I Am… to the Traverse, a solo piece that engages directly with Brew’s body as it is now, exploring what it is to be broken, reborn, purified, and to reconcile being in the world in an entirely new way. The play moves to Aberdeen in April.

Elsewhere, poet Simon Armitage, Told by an Idiot, National Theatre of Scotland and the Lyceum are working together on new music play I Am Thomas. With such great names behind the production as well as the rise of so-called ‘gig plays,’ innumerable at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe, this is an exciting production to watch out for. While the comedy festival takes over much of Glasgow in March, the Citizens ends the month with the Royal Shakespeare Company and A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Play For The Nation, with local amateur actors joining the RSC professionals on stage.

46

Review

In April Scottish Ballet are bringing Swan Lake to the Theatre Royal, Glasgow before touring Scotland and Newcastle in the following month.

Right Now, written by award-winning Quebecois playwright Catherine-Anne Toupin and directed by former RSC Artistic Director Sir Michael Boyd comes to the Traverse in April, while over in Glasgow Zinnie Harris adapts Greek tragedy The Oresteia for the Citizens, under the guise of The Restless House. Mark Thomson directs his final piece as artistic director for the Lyceum with Chris Hanan’s The Iliad (making this a good month for fans of Greek tragedy) while the classic Of Mice and Men comes to the Kings Theatre, Edinburgh.

“ In their 10th birthday year, National Theatre of Scotland celebrate past plays and present exciting new work” May brings the first part of new NTS trilogy The 306: Dawn, which tells the story of the three hundred and six British soldiers who were executed for cowardice, desertion and mutiny during World War I. Summing up their motto as a theatre without walls, this piece will be performed in a transformed barn in the Perthshire countryside.

Thon Man Molière closes the Lyceum’s 50th birthday programme, while the stage version of Breakfast at Tiffany’s comes to the Theatre Royal.

If all of this isn’t enough to get you through until the summer announcements, head over to the website for more detailed listings as and when they come in. From puppetry to ballet to Shakespeare to barns, there’s something to be found for any and every theatre fan.

The Traverse’s double bill Tracks of the Winter Bear is far removed from the typical pantomime hi-jinx of the Christmas season. Instead, it is a thoughtful, charming offering; quiet and understated without losing the humour or the upswings that Christmas needs.

Stephen Greenhorn’s first act is by far the sadder of the two, telling a tale of lost love, grief and acceptance. Deborah Arnott’s Shula is perfectly pitched as the play slowly unwinds details that look deep into society, the assumptions we might make about others and the ways in which we don’t look after our own. Shula chooses to hibernate for winter after being sanctioned and losing thirteen weeks of her benefits. This situation is all too realistic and the play quietly points to this; not overly emphasised, but important.

Tracks of the Winter Bear, Traverse Theatre, run ended traverse.co.uk/whats-on/event-detail/689/tracks-of-thewinter-bear.aspx

Credit: Nisbet & Wylie

Credit: Heather Landis

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Rona Munro’s second act is much more conceptual, with Caroline Deyga becoming the titular Winter Bear. Mother Christmas, played by Kathryn Howden, is our heroine here, though she is reluctant about the role she’s taken on, both as Mother Christmas and the soon-to-be adopted friend of an escaped polar bear. Her opening monologue is hilarious, with great use of dramatic irony and comic timing throughout. This play too is introspective, though on a more upbeat note, and as with Greenhorn’s first act, it ends on a socially conscious upswing.

The plays may be stylistically different, but they complement each other well and with charming asides that suggest they exist in the same universe, it appears they’ll be living together happily through the rest of the festive season. As long as they watch out for bears. [Emma Ainley-Walker]

Snow White

Kings Theatre, Glasgow

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The King’s Theatre’s Snow White is a ‘traditional’ panto in the modern sense, which means it takes the plot of a Disney movie, peppers the script with nods to pop culture and local place names, and works in some chart-topper dance numbers in the vein of Shrek. If you pictured a pantomime of Snow White it would probably look like this, though the extent to which it displays its Disney influences makes you wonder what the tradition might resemble in a world where Mickey Mouse never caught on.

As ever, the villains are the best bit: Juliet Cadzow (Balamory’s Edie McCredie) oozes joyful malice as the Wicked Queen while Gregor Fisher (Rab C. Nesbitt) makes Hector, her henchman, work as both bumbling goon and exasperated straight-man, riffing off the audience and his fel-

THEATRE

low performers. The show is at its strongest when they’re on together; unfortunately it’s at its weakest when it’s stuck being Snow White, with the titular princess all too passive until the final showdown, and the seven dwarves struggling under the play’s laziest writing: a quip likening ‘homeless’ Snow White to a Big Issue seller felt particularly misjudged without an attempt to make its teller the punchline.

But overall, Snow White mostly works: the sets are varied and impressively glittery, the plot progresses at a reasonable clip, and the dance numbers are well choreographed and exciting. It might not be novel, but it’s vital enough to make a fun night at the theatre if you’re not already pantoed out. [Neil Weaving] Snow White, The King’s Theatre, until 10 Jan (not 25 Dec, 1 or 5 Jan), times vary, £11.90-£32.90 atgtickets.com/shows/snow-white/kings-theatre/

THE SKINNY

Bard is a Four-Letter Word

An unsullied new year is the perfect opportunity for new poets to pick up a pen or punch a keyboard. Here’s some key advice for those in pursuit of their literary intent, and how and where in Scotland to take things forward

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anuary isn’t the easiest of months to enjoy.

All over the world, people are dieting, selfhating and joining gyms that they then hate even more. The best ways of self-improvement are sometimes the most savage. However, a good, sharp sting definitely beats that duller, longer-lasting ache of feeling something isn’t all it could be. Now you’ve made all your other resolutions, it’s time to give your literary intentions a proper health check. There are many programmes designed to advance your writing, including one-off talks and classes, through the Scottish Writers’ Centre in Glasgow and the Scottish Poetry Library (more information below). But before any of that, take a look at our friendly advice.

The first cut is the deepest One of my favourite pieces of writerly advice is the Quiller-Couchism, ‘Murder your darlings’ (often wrongly attributed to Wilde, Ginsberg and Chesterton) which I think just about says it all.

Unlike a lot of hobbies, writing is such a personal endeavour that you can’t help bias sneaking in.

Once you begin a piece and start to get excited, it does have a nasty habit of turning into a sort of creature in its own right, growing flesh and bones which you are scared to maim by over-editing.

There’s always that suspicion that if you start cutting or tweaking you might lose the x factor which defines the piece and makes it matter to you… but then again you know in your heart of hearts that there can be no progress without a little destruction.

So go ahead – commit murder. Obviously not in a ‘soak your papers in petrol, throw in a live

Take the plunge Now you’ve made that first step of thinking as a reader, it’s a great idea to actually get another pair of eyes involved. Choose someone you know who also writes, or is at least a frequent reader – that way you get the truth, not just compliments. Even the knowledge that someone is reading your stuff can change the way you read it yourself, because you suddenly become aware of how and what they might read. My best critic barely says a word; as soon as I’ve handed the paper over I become aware of things I’ve been keeping behind a selfprotection barrier, a bit like 1984 double-think, and before he even starts talking I’m the one explaining the pitfalls!

Onwards and upwards Get a wider perspective by joining a writing group.

Just as you are able to be more honest with yourself with one critic, think how much that ability grows with numbers. Putting your work in the spotlight is always better when others around you are

Golden Years

Nicotine

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By Ali Eskandarian

Singer, songwriter and novelist Ali Eskandarian’s Golden Years is exactly what the literary scene needs. Claimed by Eskandarian himself as an ‘IranianAmerican novel’ and certain – for tragedy alongside literary talent – to be a cult classic, it’s a semiautobiographical novel where present narratives of Ali, in New York and on tour, blend with memories of Tehran, past loves and losses.

Growing up in Tehran and moving to Dallas with his family as a child, then onto New York to pursue his art, this book is in many ways a new wave of the beat novel genre. It enchants the reader with brutal honesty about sex, drugs, music and war. A new beat longing to be heard, it adds unique depth to the typical beat narrative with its undercurrents of apprehension and destruction, provided by a very national, personal and cultural war, and the delicacy and allure of Ali Eskandarian.

In 2013, Eskandarian was tragically murdered alongside two members of the band Yellow Dogs. This posthumous publication facilitates a communication between the living and the dead, creativity and criticism, past and present.

Eskandarian’s new beat and superb account of the pursuit of art will linger with you, ringing in your ears. As Ali himself questions in Golden Years, ‘has the past ever been so dead and alive at the same time?’ [Rosie Barron] Out 7 January, published by Faber & Faber, RRP £14.99

January 2016

critic and dance around the pyre naked’ kind of way (although who am I to judge if the Wicker Man approach is your thing?). See it as a naked eye view with no bits tinted; try to look at the work as if it were someone else looking for the first time, someone who has no history or sentimental attachment to go on, but can only judge at immediate face (or page) value. Chances are you’ll start to notice certain howlers in a way you didn’t let yourself before. Is that adjective clumsy? Perhaps I can do without that line. Would it be more vivid if I structured it differently?

in the same position of vulnerability, and the kind of people willing to step forward in order to selfimprove are generally appreciative of the fact that you’re all there to provide constructive feedback, not score points.

“ Commit murder.

Obviously not in a ‘soak your papers in petrol, throw in a live critic and dance around the pyre naked’ kind of way” If you prefer weekly sessions, try the ESU Scotland writers group in Edinburgh, Stirling Writers’ Group, or Alistair Paterson’s weekly classes – ‘Discovering the Writer Within’ – at the Charlie Reed Centre, Glasgow. Otherwise, The Lemon Tree Writers group in Aberdeen meets fortnightly (as does New Writing Banff), The School of Poets in Edinburgh provides monthly sessions and the Edinburgh Creative Writers Group run Rouge Writers Sundays each week at Patisserie Floretine in Stockbridge.

Bret Easton Ellis and the Other Dogs

By Gregor Hens

By Lina Wolff

rrrrr

Nicotine. A highly appropriate work to review this time of year, when self-imposed abstinence casts its cloud over the chaste post-Christmas period.

Gregor Hens has felt the pain of abstinence many times, through multiple attempts to quit smoking. The writhing, sweating and craving, followed by the joyful indulgence of that first illicit cigarette, guaranteed to vindicate any suffering, resulting in this excellent personal work on the fetishisation, ceremony and compulsions of the smoker.

Nicotine is a meandering journey through a life of everyday addiction, soaked in memories stained sepia by tobacco smoke. Freud is only the first psychoanalytical deconstruction on the path to understanding his obsession – remembering his beautiful mother, cigarette in hand, literally passing the habit to him; his smoke breathing tyrant father, later to embody severe renunciation.

The writing is superb, an unclassifiable mix of freeform thought and transcribed memory. Its malleable structure, through sheer skill and confidence, allow the many digressions to remain ever valid and precise. The reader becomes therapist, reflecting upon Hen’s reflections, a sounding board in a process which the writer seemingly seeks to learn from. In that respect it is highly selfindulgent, and yes, self-serving. Yet, so insightful and honest that we never feel as if smoke is being blown in our eyes, or up anywhere else. [Alan Bett]

‘We’re going to call this little pup Dante. Let’s call the mangy old cur over there Chaucer.’ This is Alba Cambo, standing in front of a dog pen, teaching women in a brothel about passive aggression. When a john doesn’t treat them right, they feed the dogs rotten meat. And across town, a teenage girl tries to fit together all the stories that lead back to this one woman.

Swedish writer Lina Wolff has had enough of the big swinging dicks of masculine literature. She examines the idea of violence as entertainment – especially violence towards women. Bret Easton Ellis is a dog, bundled into a box in the boot of a car. Other violent moments: a boy hit by a truck in front of his mother; an old man farting wetly in the moment before the lights turn on and everyone shouts surprise for his birthday; a cat boiled on the stove by the maid as vengeance for eating a blackbird’s chicks. But it isn’t all blood and gore – the book shifts about. Sometimes it’s funny, then startling, then dark.

This is the novel’s non-lineal structure at play: the narrative appears in many voices, moving fluidly from one to the next. There are stories within stories, each one tracing the patterns that Alba’s life has drawn across the people she knew.

It’s clever and challenging and distinctive – brought to life by a sharp translation. [Galen O’Hanlon] Out 14 Jan, published by & Other Stories, RRP £10.00

BOOKS

Words: Clare Mulley

Treat yourself to a writing holiday Now the fun begins – try to remove yourself from routine, even if only for a few hours, and visit somewhere relaxing where you can re-read and write new material in peace. Find a new park or café.

Sniff out pubs with open fires. If you have some cash going spare, why not actually book a short course and make work a holiday? The newly-dubbed Scottish Creative Writing Centre, Moniack Mhor (previously of Arvon), has an exciting programme lined up for this year with the likes of Carol Ann Duffy and Jay Griffiths on the tutors list, and the Highland scenery is as idyllic as any writer could wish. Course prices begin at £325, or you have the option of an untutored retreat for £300.

If that still sounds like a lot, you can always apply for their grant scheme.

Finally, it will help to read the work of others and experience it live. Our event pick for January is the Shore Poets Quiet Slam on 31 Jan in Edinburgh (venue tbc). This is a slam where volume is not neccessarily a benefit. There is also a callout for performers with the event billed as the perfect place for emerging poets cutting teeth.

Moniak Mhor has multiple creative writing courses throughout the year. Poetry is with Tim Clare and Christine De Luca moniackmhor.org.uk The Scottish Poetry Library list their tips and events on their website scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk Shore poets are looking for performers for their Quit Slam on their website shorepoets.org.uk

Paulina & Fran

By Rachel B. Glaser

rrrrr

Paulina and Fran are struggling with art school.

To Paulina everything is art – maintaining her hair, trying on dead people’s clothes in the thrift store, kissing other people’s boyfriends at the Colour Club. Fran is an earnest painter, her biggest regret when she dies will be that she never produced enough work for a decent retrospective. The two are slightly lost and somehow find each other, forging an intense, uneasy friendship in the clubs of Norway and inventing Viking lovers in the museums they are dragged around on a college trip.

This is the first novel from Rachel B. Glaser, winner of the McSweeney’s Amanda Davis Fiction Award in 2013, and herself a painting graduate.

The writing perfectly evokes the attempted cool of the institutional experience – young adults playing with different personas. The first two thirds of the story are filled with addictive engaging prose that immerses the reader in the lives of Paulina and Fran. Then the book begins to fall down, slightly, as Paulina’s post-school New York antiadventures unravel throughout a strange and unlikely storyline based around hair products. Glaser seems to have created a poetic final scene and then frantically backfilled, making unrealistic connections between characters who should never have seen each other again. These elements form a slight edge of disappointment on what remains a highly readable book. [Sacha Waldron]

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47

Win a night at Glasgow Win Glasgow Film Film Festival!

Festival tickets!

E

njoy a night at Glasgow Film Festival without having to worry about how you’ll get home!

One lucky winner can have a night on us in the Apex Hotel. Located in Glasgow’s city centre, it is home to 104 modern rooms and suites with high-speed Wi-Fi access and luxurious Elemis toiletries as standard – perfect to relax and refresh after enjoying a day exploring the Festival!

To win one night stay at the Apex, plus two pairs of standard price tickets to your choice of films on Saturday 20 February (subject to availability), go to theskinny.co.uk/competitions with the correct answer to the question following:

How many rooms does the Apex Hotel have? a) 666 b) 104 c) 42 Competition closes midnight Sun 31 January 2016. Competition applies to standard price tickets only, all tickets subject to availability. Excludes Opening and Closing Galas.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 Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms-and-conditions visitgff.glasgowfilm.org/ @glasgowfilmfest

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Review

G

lasgow Film Festival returns for its 12th edition from 17-28 February 2016 with an actionpacked programme of premieres, parties and special events in innovative locations throughout the city. Famous for its unique pop-up cinema events, this year you can expect to travel the galaxy at The Planetarium, dodge boulders on a Kelvingrove quest and stay up late with The Silence of the Lambs and, for the first time ever, GFF turns Barrowland Ballroom into a cinema to host the world premiere screening of Where You’re Meant To Be. With almost 200 films and events across 12 days there’s sure to be something for everyone in Glasgow this February! Full 2016 line-up will be announced 20 January. To win six pairs of tickets to a bundle of Skinny-partnered films spread

COMPETITIONS

across the festival (titles to be revealed on 20 Jan), head to theskinny.co.uk/competitions and answer the question below: On what date does Glasgow Film Festival 2016 begin? a) 25 January b) 25 December c) 17 February Competition closes midnight Sun 31 January 2016. Competition applies to standard price tickets only, all tickets subject to availability. 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 Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/ terms-and-conditions

THE SKINNY

Win an Edinburgh Beer Factory tour!

The Sound of Satire For a man who takes on the world via a podcast called The Bugle, Andy Zaltzman is surprisingly modest about tooting his own horn Interview: Tamara Mathias Illustration: Fran Caballero

N

ew to the scene in 2015, Edinburgh Beer Factory launched its first beer, Paolozzi lager, in November. The brewery is a family business created to showcase the art of brewing, housed in a converted industrial unit in the west of Edinburgh.

Their launch beer is a tribute to homegrown hero Eduardo Paolozzi. The Leith-born inventor of Pop Art believed in the ‘sublime in the everyday’; Paolozzi lager is a 21st Century Edinburgh take on a historic Munich style, creating an exceptionally refined lager beer with a perfect bitter-sweet balance and fabulously sparkling appearance.

We’ve teamed up with Edinburgh Beer Factory to offer five readers the chance to go on a behindthe-scenes brewery tour, with a deluxe gift set for each person, including beers, glassware, t-shirt and a Paolozzi print. To enter, just head to theskinny.co.uk/competitions with the correct answer to the following question: Which Edinburgh-born artist is Edinburgh Beer Factory’s first beer named after? a) Eduardo Paolozzi b) Eduardo Hopper c) Eduardo Norton

Competition closes midnight Sun 31 January 2016. 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 Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms-and-conditions

A

Win Nahko & Medicine for the People tickets!

D

isillusioned by the world around him and inspired by vagabond, Americana musicians and storytellers like Conor Oberst and Bob Dylan, Nahko Bear left home as a teenager in search of adventure and self-discovery. Armed with stories, a guitar, and a fierce set of ideals, he set out to bridge the cultural gaps dividing his own psyche.

Now he's set to come to Òran Mór as the frontman of US sensations Nahko and Medicine for the People, and you could win a pair of tickets!

Nahko and Medicine for the People play Glasgow on Tues 19 Jan as part of the Celtic Connections festival 2016, with support from Australian songwriter Kim Churchill. For your chance to win, simply fill in the form below, identifying the correct answer to this brain-busting question:

January 2016

Which Glasgow venue are Nahko and Medicine For The People playing on 19 Jan 2016? a) The Hydro b) Òran Mór c) Old Fruitmarket

nahko.com | celticconnections.com | beyondpresents.co.uk Competition closes midnight Fri 15 Jan 2016. Winners will be notified via email within two working days of closing and will be required to respond within 24 hours or the prize will be offered to another entrant. Our Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms-and-conditionsentrant. The names of the winner will be on the guest list. Our Ts&Cs can be found at theskinny.co.uk/about/terms-and-conditions

ndy Zaltzman’s Twitter bio currently reads: Born in 1974. Still not dead yet.

“Not a massive amount has happened since then,” says Zaltzman, by way of explanation. “Everything else is just a footnote to that.”

However, upon further inspection, this apparent footnote proves to be a fully fledged story in its own right. Zaltzman is one of the remaining artists in the country to treat political satire as a serious comedic genre, and can be categorically relied upon to comment on news stories from across the globe, pulling them apart with precision for the benefit of a bemused but entertained audience.

Take The Bugle, the podcast that Zaltzman and longtime co-host John Oliver of Last Week Tonight bring to life on an (almost) weekly basis, through impressively co-ordinated recording sessions across the Atlantic. The comedic duo work together in a long distance relationship of sorts, with Oliver stationed in New York and Zaltzman manning the home base in Britain. Over the last eight years the show that describes itself as ‘an audio newspaper for a visual world’ has gained an impressive global listenership of around 300,000 people per episode.

Regular listeners, or Buglers, are fed a steady diet of facts and it’s all seasoned with just the right amount of comedic hogwash. Their characteristic wit and chemistry makes for a wonderfully symbiotic show and Zaltzman attributes some of this to the new avenues that technology has opened: “Podcasts have enabled great independence for artists,” he explains. “In some sense comedians have claimed this independence since ancient Greek times. There is still some truth to Aristophanes’ idea that the comedian is equipped with a voice to critique society from an objective point of view.”

Zaltzman possesses a particular talent for dissecting and cross-examining stories that make headlines, most evident in Satirist For Hire, his solo show that solicits audience suggestions in advance. He meets last minute email requests for

COMPETITIONS / COMEDY

his take on everything from ISIS to romantic relationships, finding each topic’s inherent satire with rapid writing and research: “Despite the obvious pitfalls to such a format,” he says, “I think every show retains a freshness. There’s a balance between serious issues and total nonsense. I don’t know if that makes it fun to watch but it’s certainly a lot of fun to do as a comedian.”

“ There’s a balance between serious issues and total nonsense” Andy Zaltzman

Satirist For Hire arrives in Edinburgh this month and is also on the Glasgow International Comedy Festival’s schedule in March. “I always go out of my way to make jokes about cricket when I’m in Scotland. While there are a few hardcore cricket fans around, I enjoy playing on those differences between a cricket-loving Englishman and the cricket sceptic nation of Scotland.”

With the New Year sure to be replete with folly, we make a request for advice on the planet’s future.

“Ah yes, the planet is pretty much falling apart without us so we’ll be back to fix everything in January. Until then, I think my advice would pretty much be that we all need to ‘grow up!’ We’ve all been behaving a little bit childish of late, so growing up would be a pretty good start.”

Andy Zaltzman: Satirist For Hire plays The Stand, Edinburgh, 13 Jan 2016, doors 7.30pm, £12 and Glasgow Stand, 16 Mar 2016, doors 6.30pm, £12.

Email tosatirisethis@satiristforhire.com with the date you are attending and potential topics for satire thestand.co.uk

Review

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Glasgow Music Tue 05 Jan

BEN CAPLAN (BILLY JEFFREY JNR + MATT SCOTT)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

Canadian folk muso with a rather resplendent beard, often to be found performing with his live band The Casual Smokers.

Thu 07 Jan

KING TUT’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION: LITTLE WAVES (GRAEME QUINN + COURIERS CLUB + PORTS OF ESSEN) KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

King Tut’s New Year’s Revolution schedule (7-21 January) kicks off official with a headline set from ambient indie-folkers Little Waves.

ABLE2UK (HOZIER + KODALINE)

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 18:00–22:00, £27.50

Irish soul-meets-blues one-manband Hozier headline the charity fundraiser concert, with support from Kodaline.

MUSIC AGAINST HATE CRIME LIVE (ELAVI + RACHEL WATERS + SOULDIER + WOLVES)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–22:00, £5

Showcase night of musical expression highlighting the rising trend in hate crime.

Fri 08 Jan

KING TUT’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION: ECHO VALLEY (THE PACIFIC BLUES + THE CHELSEAS + ORTHODOX)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

King Tut’s New Year’s Revolution schedule (7-21 January) continues with a headline set from Ayrshire rock quartet Echo Valley.

KETTLE OF KITES (ALISTAIR OGILVY)

STEREO, 19:30–22:00, £5

Now based in Italy, the experimental foursome return to frontman Tom Stearn’s hometown of Glasgow to launch their debut LP Loan.

Sat 09 Jan

THRONEFEST (HEART OF A COWARD + MARTYR DEFILED + SHIELDS + TO KILL ACHILLES + FROM SORROW TO SERENITY + COLOURS OF SHAME + LIFELINES + THE RECOVERY) CLASSIC GRAND, 15:00–23:00, £15

Inaugural weekend festival celebrating all things metal and hardcore, including sets from Heart of a Coward, Continents and Betraying the Martyrs.

KING TUT’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION: THE PHANTOMS (PROUD HONEY + THE RANZAS + SONIC TEMPLARS) KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

King Tut’s New Year’s Revolution schedule (7-21 January) continues with a headline set from Glasgowbased rock ensemble Phantoms, build on a diet of soaring dual lead vocals and three part harmonies, guitars and piano.

LEANNE AND THE RADIX

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:00–22:00, £6

Multi-cultural six-piece build from the foundations of reggae group The iFoundation.

Sun 10 Jan

THRONEFEST (BETRAYING THE MARTYRS + DEAD HARTS + CONTINENTS + NUMBER THEM + HAYWORTH + SWALLOWS + RAINFALLS) CLASSIC GRAND, 15:00–23:00, £15

Inaugural weekend festival celebrating all things metal and hardcore, including sets from Heart of a Coward, Continents and Betraying the Martyrs.

DIET CIG (BRUISING + BREAKFAST MUFF)

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, £7.50

New York-based pop ensemble that began life as a casual project between Alex Luciano (guitar) and Noah Bowman (drums).

KING TUT’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION: JILL BROWN (JUNEBUG + BLACKLEAF 40 + SAINT HUCK) KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

King Tut’s New Year’s Revolution schedule (7-21 January) continues with a headline set from Scottish songstress Jill Brown.

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Listings

Mon 11 Jan SLAVES

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £SOLD OUT

Two white middle class guys named Slaves. Hmm. Standard two-piece rock.

KING TUT’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION: THE FAST CAMELS (ALL THE FRANKLINS + HOMEWARD JAMES + BLACK CAT REVUE) KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

King Tut’s New Year’s Revolution schedule (7-21 January) continues with a headline set from local 60s-influenced freakbeat popsters The Fast Camels.

Tue 12 Jan

AARON FYFE THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £7

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £5

Thu 14 Jan ANGEL HAZE

O2 ABC, 19:00–22:00, £12.50

Dynamite American rapper and lyricist who began writing at the tender age of 11 and is becoming one of the most unique voices in the genre.

KIRAN LEONARD

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £8

Experimental singer/songwriter hailing from Oldham, now signed to Moshi Moshi and with new tunes and a new album on the way.

KING TUT’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION: COW COW BOOGIE (THE BIG NOWHERE + STRANGE BLUE DREAMS + THE RULERS OF THE ROOT) KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

King Tut’s New Year’s Revolution schedule (7-21 January) continues with a headline set from Edinburgh-based merrymakers Cow Cow Boogie and their jolly brand of 40s/50s western swing, country and jump blues.

CELTIC CONNECTIONS: CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF THE TMSA GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £20

Celtic Connections kicks off with a bumper-sized concert marking the 50th anniversary of Scotland’s Traditional Music and Song Association, played out by a one-off Scottish vocal line-up that includes Kris Drever, Adam McNaughton and Barbara Dickson.

Fri 15 Jan THE MACCABEES

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00, £23

Increasingly mature indie group dipping into a four-strong bank of LPs. STURGILL SIMPSON (LERA LYNN)

O2 ABC, 19:30–22:00, £16.50

Nashville singer/songwriter coming from the tradition of outlaw country that includes legends Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard. Part of Celtic Connections.

CORB LUND

Louis Abbott and his merry ensemble premiere a new Steve Forman commission, alongside arrangements of Admiral Fallow rarities by Lau’s Aidan O’Rourke and composer Gareth Williams.

Part of Celtic Connections.

9BACH + IAIN MORRISON

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £14

CLENCH (AVANTE + VELOCITIES)

The alternative bunch take to Sleazy’s to launch their new EP Signals.

Sat 16 Jan ERRORS

O2 ABC, 19:30–22:00, £14

The Glasgow electronic indie rockers air tracks from their more organic-sounding new LP Lease of Life, complementing their trademark liberal use of vocals with pleasingly straight-cut melodies.

Part of Celtic Connections.

THIS IS THE KIT (AIDAN O’ROURKE TRIO)

DRYGATE BREWING CO., 19:30–22:00, £14

Musical project of Kate Stables and pals, layering primal and hushed electric textures onto songs of unaffected beauty. Part of Celtic Connections.

DANIEL PADDEN + WOUNDED KNEE

THE GLAD CAFE, 20:00–22:00, £12

Daniel Padden and Drew Wright (aka Wounded Knee) unveil the fruits of a new song cycle celebrating the seasons, inspired by Edinburgh and the Pentland Hills.

Part of Celtic Connections.

SCOTT WOOD BAND (MEC LIR)

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £14

Scottish folk rockers in a new extended line-up. Part of Celtic Connections.

KING TUT’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION: THE CALM FIASCO (FOGGY CITY ORPHAN + INDIGO VELVET + BAD MANNEQUINS) KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

King Tut’s New Year’s Revolution schedule (7-21 January) continues with a headline set from Glasgowbased indie-rockers The Calm Fiasco.

DE ROSA

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £8

Lanarkshire trio made up of songwriter Martin John Henry, plus James Woodside (bass) and Neil Woodside (drums), out launching their new LP. Part of Celtic Connections.

SICK OF TALK (SURGE + GLUERASH + LOST LIMBS + RAPID TAN)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–22:00, £6

The hardcore noisemakers launch their new EP, with a bounty-load of suitably thrashy support.

Sun 17 Jan

HAZY RECOLLECTIONS (MAUD THE MOTH + GUS HARROWER + SOMETHING SOMEONE + TEENCANTEEN) O2 ABC, 14:30–16:30, £12

Handpicked selection of acts from the flourishing Glasgow indie, folk and roots scene, on hand to soothe your Sunday hangovers. Part of Celtic Connections.

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, £10

TREMBLING BELLS (STEPHANIE HLADOWSKI + FAMILY ELAN)

KING TUT’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION: HALO TORA (TOY MOUNTAINS + NOTHING UNIVERSE + VERSE METRICS)

Original Incredible String Band member Mike Heron teams up with Glasgow’s own kings and queens of modern folk, Trembling Bells, to perform new arrangements of some ISB classics. Part of Celtic Connections

Canadian country singer/songwriter and frontman of Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans.

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

King Tut’s New Year’s Revolution schedule (7-21 January) continues with a headline set from Glasgow post-rock unit Halo Tora.

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £6.50

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

THE MERMAIDS (GENESEE)

Mon 18 Jan

ADMIRAL FALLOW: COMMON GROUND

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–22:00, £5

King Tut’s New Year’s Revolution schedule (7-21 January) continues with a showcase special from the F*ck Yes Glasgow troops.

The Carl Barat and Pete Dohertyled unit return to a live setting, having, y’know, finally gotten over that ten-year falling out.

MACKINTOSH CHURCH, 19:30–22:00, £15

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

KING TUT’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION: F*CK YES (TONGUES + FOREVER + LIFE MODEL)

Ron Pope-led American outfit whose current sound steers his former country-folk leanings into irresistibly hooky pop-anthem territory. Part of Celtic Connections.

Songwriting sisters, Rosie and Ellen, from rural South West Scotland. Part of Celtic Connections.

Double bill of progressive roots-based sounds. Part of Celtic Connections.

Wed 13 Jan

THE LIBERTINES THE SSE HYDRO, 19:00–22:00, FROM £25

Dunblane-born sing/songwriter who recently released debut LP 10 Songs, co-produced by Francis Macdonald from Teenage Fanclub.

KING TUT’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION: CHLOE MARIE (LIAM DOYLE + AMY GRODEN + CHRIS ASHTON)

King Tut’s New Year’s Revolution schedule (7-21 January) continues with a headline set from Ayrshire songstress Chloe Marie.

RON POPE AND THE NIGHTHAWKS O2 ABC, 19:30–22:00, £16

ORAN MOR, 19:30–22:00, £14

KING TUT’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION: BLOODLINES (TETRA + THE 21ST STATE + GOODCOPGREATCOP) KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

King Tut’s New Year’s Revolution schedule (7-21 January) continues with a headline set from alternative noisemakers Bloodlines.

CARBS (ULTRAS + JJJJONATHAN)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £7

Having grabbed our attention with their debut LP, the fledgling hiphop project of sonic boomer Jonnie Common and Conquering Animal Sound’s Jamie Scott – CARBS – play an intimate set. Part of Celtic Connections.

KING TUT’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION: THE WINTER TRADITION (LIFE ON STANDBY + CAVALIERS + ARTIE)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

King Tut’s New Year’s Revolution schedule (7-21 January) continues with a headline set from noisy powerpop-meets-rock Scottish quartet The Winter Tradition.

Tue 19 Jan ZEUS! (DROVES)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–22:00, £7 (£5)

Some Italian left-field guitar abuse for your general aural pleasure.

YORKSTON + THORNE + KHAN (LISA O’NEILL)

TRON THEATRE, 20:00–22:00, £14

Collaborative project of Scottish folk singer/songwriter James Yorkston, sarangi player and classical singer Suhail Yusuf Khan and Lamb’s double bass player Jon Thorne. Part of Celtic Connections.

NAHKO AND MEDICINE FOR THE PEOPLE (KIM CHURCHILL)

ORAN MOR, 19:30–22:00, £15

Oregon-native born Nahko who originally drew influence from the likes of Conor Oberst and Bob Dylan.

KING TUT’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION: PATERSANI (THE BLOOD AND GOLD + THE DEAD SETTLERS + THE NORTHERN)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

King Tut’s New Year’s Revolution schedule (7-21 January) continues with a headline set from Glasgow indie-rock unit Patersani.

ANDREW WASYLYK

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £7.50

Alias of Scottish writer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Mitchell, known as a member of Idlewild, The Hazy Janes and Art of the Memory Palace. Part of Celtic Connections.

Wed 20 Jan

THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00, £15.50

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

GAVIN JAMES (NOAH GUNDERSEN)

ORAN MOR, 19:30–22:00, £14

Dublin singer/songwriter with fine soul chops. Part of Celtic Connections.

KING TUT’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION: APACHE DARLING (THE CLARAMASSA + ACRYLIC + WUH OH) KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

King Tut’s New Year’s Revolution schedule (7-21 January) continues with a headline set from Glasgowbased electronic duo Apache Darling.

Thu 21 Jan

KING CHARLES (ELIZA SHADDAD)

O2 ABC, 19:30–22:00, £15

Charming West London folkster, classically trained, and player of guitar, piano and cello. Part of Celtic Connections.

SKETCH (MOH! KOUYATE)

ORAN MOR, 19:30–22:00, £14

Celtic dancefloor troupe masterminded by former Peatbog Faeries drummer Iain Copeland. Part of Celtic Connections.

THE WINTER PASSING (LOSING SLEEP + FLAKES)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–22:00, £5

The Irish indie-rock quartet make a return visit to Glasgow.

KING TUT’S NEW YEAR’S REVOLUTION: ARMSTRONG (START STATIC + TALK + DON’T LOOK DOWN)

King Tut’s New Year’s Revolution schedule (7-21 January) rounds off with a headline set from Glasgowbased indie-rockers Armstrong.

FIELDS OF GREEN: SONGWRITER’S CIRCLE

PLATFORM, 19:30–22:00, £12

A group of Scottish songwriters – Rachel Sermanni, Louis Abbott, RM Hubbert, The Pictish Trail and Jo Mango – premiere a series of new songs inspired by their travels as musicians. Part of Celtic Connections.

MARRY WATERSON (ALISTAIR OGILVY)

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £10

The singer, songwriter and visual artist unveils her new LP made in collaboration with David A. Jaycock.

Fri 22 Jan

BAGS OF ROCK (EK DECAY + PAPA SHANDY AND THE DRAMS)

CLASSIC GRAND, 18:00–22:00, £12

The former Red Hot Chilli Pipers frontman tours with his band, deftly mixing bagpipes with modern rock’n’roll.

LINDI ORTEGA (JORDAN KLASSEN)

ORAN MOR, 19:30–22:00, £14

The Canadian singer/songwriter does her country-styled-popmeets-rockabilly thing, most likely in cherry-red cowboy boots.

JOZEF VAN WISSEM (LAURA CANNELL)

PLATFORM, 19:30–22:00, £12

Brooklyn-based Dutch minimalist composer and lutenist, also known as one-half of Brethren of the Free Spirit. Part of Celtic Connections.

REVOLVER (THE RADIOS)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–22:00, £7

Cumbernauld and Kilsyth-straddling rock’n’roll troupe.

LIFESIGNS (COMEDY OF ERRORS)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £12.50

Modern prog rock band indebted to the likes of Focus and King Crimson.

FRAZEY FORD (OLA ONABULE)

O2 ABC, 19:30–22:00, £15

Canadian singer/songwriter and co-founder of country-folk trio the Be Good Tanyas. Part of Celtic Connections.

DUGLAS T STEWART AND THE GLAD COMMUNITY CHOIR: SONGS OF IVOR CUTLER

THE GLAD CAFE, 20:00–22:00, £12

BMX Bandits frontman Duglas T Stewart and The Glad Community Choir perform some of Ivor Cutler’s best songs and poetry, marking the 10th anniversary of Cutler’s death.

Part of Celtic Connections.

BEACH SLANG

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £8

The American rock quartet take their debut LP on tour.

MASSIVE ATTACK (YOUNG FATHERS)

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £SOLD OUT

The longstanding Bristol trip-hop duo play a duo of consecutive gigs, with support from our own Young Fathers – who recently collaborated on the score for 3D of Massive Attack’s new short film.

PHASE IV (THE COSMIC DEAD + OKISHIMA ISLAND + AMFJ + BOSPHORUS + MASS + THE DOLGADJUS) 13TH NOTE, 18:00–23:00, £7 (£5)

Special night of premium metal, noise and psychedelia, with acts from Glasgow to Berlin to Reykjavik, headlined by local cult legends The Cosmic Dead. Raising funds for Women’s Aid.

Sat 23 Jan

PEATBOG FAERIES (RADIO COS)

O2 ABC, 19:30–22:00, £15

More high octane instrumental contemporary folk from the Isle of Skye crew. Part of Celtic Connections.

ENEMIES OF THE STATE (NOVEMBER LIGHTS + LEMONHAZE + FREELANCE LIARS)

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £7

The indie-rock locals take to the stage to do their ever-energetic live thing.

THE LONE BELLOW (THE SMALL GLORIES) ORAN MOR, 19:30–22:00, £14

Brooklyn-based country ensemble led by singer and principal songwriter Zach Williams.

IN THIS MOMENT

BARROWLANDS, 19:00–22:00, £15

LA-based metalcore ensemble formed by singer Maria Brink and guitarist Chris Howorth back in 2005.

THE DRINK

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £7

London-based trio built on a diet of off-kilter guitar pop melodies and lyrical curiosities. Part of Celtic Connections.

MASSIVE ATTACK (YOUNG FATHERS)

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 19:00–22:00, £SOLD OUT

The longstanding Bristol trip-hop duo play a duo of consecutive gigs, with support from our own Young Fathers – who recently collaborated on the score for 3D of Massive Attack’s new short film.

THE OPPRESSED + JOCK SPARRA + RANDOM SCANDAL + THE FORE CUPS

STEREO, 18:00–22:30, £15 (£13)

WestGAP fundraiser including a set from Livvy’s Jock Sparra.

After-party from 10.30pm with DJ Miss Laura Elite and Mixed Up Vinyl Club.

THE TRONGATE RUM RIOTS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–22:00, £TBC

Scottish ensemble comprising seven lads and one lass making their own brand of folk-punk songs, or ‘hyper-sea shanties’ as they call ‘em.

Sun 24 Jan GALOSHINS

THE GLAD CAFE, 20:00–22:00, £12

Singer and composer Alasdair Roberts teams up with Shane Connolly for a special performance of folk play Galoshins, once performed by groups of Scottish children around Halloween or Hogmanay. Part of Celtic Connections.

HAZY RECOLLECTIONS (ELEANOR NICOLSON + ANGUS MUNRO + MICHAEL CASSIDY + HAVE MERCY LAS VEGAS)

O2 ABC, 14:30–16:30, £12

Handpicked selection of acts from the flourishing Glasgow indie, folk and roots scene, on hand to soothe your Sunday hangovers. Part of Celtic Connections.

TWELFTH DAY (MJ MCCARTHY + MAUD THE MOTH)

THE HUG AND PINT, 20:00–22:00, £7

Collaborative musical project of fiddle player Catriona Price and harpist Esther Swift. Part of Celtic Connections.

MOTÖRHEAD

A NEW INTERNATIONAL

WILL ROBERT

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £5

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £6

Regrouped local indie lot, formerly playing as The Starlets.

THE CORRS

THE SSE HYDRO, 19:00–22:00, FROM £29.50

The sibling Irish folk ensemble return to a live setting.

UNCLE LUCIUS (TOMMY REILLY + RYAN JOSEPH BURNS)

THE HUG AND PINT, 20:00–22:00, £9

Texan Americana and folk foursome steeped in classic rock’n’roll and the blues. Part of Celtic Connections.

Wed 27 Jan

TURIN BRAKES (HANNAH FISHER)

O2 ABC, 19:30–22:00, £16

The London folk rock ensemble hit the road again with their sleepy laidback sound. Part of Celtic Connections.

LINDEN (JJ GILMOUR)

ORAN MOR, 19:30–22:00, £14

Joe McAlinden – aka Linden – old mucker of such storied Scottish musicians as Norman Blake, Duglas T Stewart and Sean Dickson (Soup Dragons). Part of Celtic Connections.

FROG

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £7.50

DILLY DALLY

Toronto indie-punks built on a rumbling tumult of unsanitised aggression.

JASON ISBELL (ANDERSON EAST)

O2 ABC, 19:30–22:00, £17.50

The former Drive-By Truckers chap continues to tour solo after leaving the group in 2007. Part of Celtic Connections.

Mon 25 Jan THREE BLIND WOLVES

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £8

More singalongable, dancealongable alternative countryesque tunes from the Glasgow lads. Part of Celtic Connections.

MINUS THE BEAR

ORAN MOR, 19:00–22:00, £14

Seattle indie-rock lot made up of ex-members of Botch, Kill Sadie and Sharks Keep Moving.

Tue 26 Jan

JOHN GRANT (RACHEL SERMANNI)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £24

The American singer/songwriter (and onetime The Czars frontman) heads Scotland-way. Part of Celtic Connections.

Dumfries-based young singer/ songwriter.

Sat 30 Jan

ADMIRAL FALLOW (HANNAH LOU CLARK)

OLD FRUITMARKET GLASGOW, 20:00–22:00, £16

Louis Abbott and his merry ensemble stage their usual rousing collective rabble of a thing. Part of Celtic Connections.

BLAZIN’ FIDDLES (THE ELEPHANT SESSIONS)

O2 ABC, 19:30–22:00, £16.50

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–22:00, £TBC

LAU (THE UNTHANKS)

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £20

Award-winning Scottish folk trio, made up of Kris Drever, Martin Green and Aidan O’Rourke, joined by a string quartet to reprise their Glasgow Commonwealth Games centrepiece work. Part of Celtic Connections.

NINA NESBITT

KING TUT’S, 20:00–23:00, £10

Half-Swedish, half-Scottish singer/songwriter in possession of a fine technical agility and emotive style.

RICK REDBEARD

THE HUG AND PINT, 20:00–22:00, £11

The Phantom Band’s Rick Redbeard (aka Rick Anthony, featured eating chips of our front cover twa January’s ago) plays a solo set of material. Part of Celtic Connections.

FLAVIA COELHO (CHEIKH LÔ)

O2 ABC, 19:30–22:00, £15.00

Brazilian singer dabbling in a slinky rhythmic and melodic mesh of samba, bossa nova, reggae, ragga and Afrobeat. Part of Celtic Connections.

KATHRYN JOSEPH (GARETH DICKSON)

BROADCAST, 19:00–22:00, £7

DAZ MCCORMICK (BOB HOLLIS)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–22:00, £4

Thu 28 Jan

Collective group of young pups referencing their Nigerian, Jamaican and Scottish heritage in their music.

MACKINTOSH CHURCH, 19:30–22:00, £14

Wry, feminist take on all things Burns – including live music from mother and daughter folk duo Yana and Lisa Petticrew, cult feminist band Muscles of Joy, and a guest appearance by the Burns Cottage Suffragette Arsonists. Compered by comic Susan Calman.

Contemporary fiddle troupe hailing from the Highlands and Islands, mixing it up with sympathetic keyboard and guitar arrangements.

Part of Celtic Connections.

MFTM (PACMAN + KILLTHEBODY + SHOGUN + SPAWN)

The Scottish singer/songwriter and pianist does her lyrically compelling thing, still riding the wave of her SAY award win. Part of Celtic Connections.

HERLAND: ALTER NATIVE BURNS

GLASGOW WOMEN’S LIBRARY, 19:00–22:00, £10 (£7.50)

Fledgling pop duo made up of Dan Bateman and Tom White, engaging modern recording and composition ideas with 50s era arrangement.

Part of Celtic Connections.

SECC, 19:00–22:00, £36.50

Lemmy et al let rip with the usual growl of incomprehensible lyrics and battering of thrash metal.

Cambridge musician built on a bed of powerfully melodic vocals and dynamic guitar work.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–22:00, £5

Fri 29 Jan JASON DERULO

THE SSE HYDRO, 19:00–22:00, FROM £29.50

Young Miami-based chart topper of the sexy urban dance and poppy love song variety. Deep stuff, we’re sure.

CITIZEN (TURNOVER)

CLASSIC GRAND, 18:00–22:00, £14

The Nick Hamm led racket-makers continue to ride the wave of their sophomore LP Everybody Is Going To Heaven.

IZZY BIZU

KING TUT’S, 20:30–23:00, £6.50

Young London-based songstress of Ethiopian descent.

AFRO CELT SOUND SYSTEM

O2 ABC, 19:30–22:00, £15

Two decades on from their landmark debut LP Sound Magic, the Afro Celt Sound System gear up for the release of the follow-up, featuring fresh collaborators and guests. Part of Celtic Connections.

EMMA POLLOCK (MO KENNEY)

ORAN MOR, 19:30–22:00, £14

Scottish songstress and co-lead singer and songwriter with the late Delgados, out launching her third LP In Search of Harperfield. Part of Celtic Connections.

MISS THE OCCUPIER (PELTS + FNUF)

The punk-inflected Glasgow popsters continue to blast Sister-era Sonic Youth through ace girl group melodies.

CALL TO MIND (THE SON(S))

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:00–22:00, £5

Glacial pop locals signed to Glasgow's own Olive Grove Records.

MONOGRAM

THE HUG AND PINT, 19:30–22:00, £8.50

The Glasgow-based post-popsters bring their usual brand of lovely.

Part of Celtic Connections.

GORDIE MACKEEMAN AND HIS RHYTHM BOYS

ORAN MOR, 19:30–22:00, £14

The Prince Edward Island group serve up old-time roots music.

Part of Celtic Connections.

Sun 31 Jan

HAZY RECOLLECTIONS (DONNA MACIOCIA + BELLA AND THE BEAR + FINDLAY NAPIER + DECLAN WELSH)

O2 ABC, 14:30–16:30, £12

Handpicked selection of acts from the flourishing Glasgow indie, folk and roots scene, on hand to soothe your Sunday hangovers. Part of Celtic Connections.

BERT INSPIRED: A CONCERT FOR BERT JANSCH

OLD FRUITMARKET GLASGOW, 20:00–22:00, £25

Marking the finale of the Celtic Connections programme, a starstudded line-up – including Robert Plant and Bernard Butler – celebrate the music of Bert Jansch.

Extra date added 1 Feb. ALAN COURTIS

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, 19:30–22:00, £7.50

The experimental Argentine musician blends sound-art, electroacoustic, drone and noise music, utilising both traditional and self-built instruments alongside recordings, manipulated tapes and prepared sounds.

C JOYNES + NICK JONAH DAVIS

THE GLAD CAFE, 19:30–22:00, £7

The acoustic guitar duo play tracks from their new LP Split Electric, each undertaking a series of solitary electric guitar explorations.

Mon 01 Feb

BERT INSPIRED: A CONCERT FOR BERT JANSCH

GLASGOW ROYAL CONCERT HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £25

Marking the final day of the Celtic Connections programme, an encore of this star-studded line-up – including Robert Plant and Bernard Butler – celebrate the music of Bert Jansch. Extra date added 1 Feb.

AIRWAVES

THE HUG AND PINT, 20:00–22:00, £6.50

Brooklyn native Nicole Schneit in her intimate pop guise, touring new LP Parting Glances.

THE SKINNY

Edinburgh Music Thu 07 Jan PAUL CARRACK

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 18:30–22:00, £28.50

Sheffield-born singer, songwriter and former frontman of Ace, Squeeze and Mike and The Mechanics, back and a-tourin’ a selection of new tracks and past hits.

Fri 08 Jan BLANK CANVAS

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £6

Edinburgh-based post-punk experimentalists, fusing elements of dreamy math with melodic guitars and bass.

HOZIER

USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00, FROM £24.75

Irish soul-meets-blues one-manband, aka Andrew Hozier-Byrne, who joined his first band at the tender age of 15.

THE GARY JOHNSTONE BAND

STRAMASH, 22:00–00:00, FREE

Upbeat modern blues rock from the up-and-coming Glasgow unit.

THE MICRO BAND

Mon 18 Jan AL GRIGG

BANNERMANS, 18:00–23:00, £5

Starting his musical career back in 1975 – via stints with myriad bands – the country-meets-blues songmaster plays a solo set.

Tue 19 Jan THE DUBLIN LEGENDS

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:30–22:00, £21.50

Longstanding Irish folk ensemble The Dubliners live and regrouped, following the passing of founding member Barney McKenna.

Thu 21 Jan

SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY NO 7

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, FROM £11

Fri 22 Jan

The Edinburgh-based blues/ swamp/rock ensemble play a hometown set.

ONZLO + JUSTIFIED SINNERS

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Showcase night of classic rock, loaded with covers and originals.

MICHAEL SCHENKER

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, £22.50

The German metal guitarist – best known as lead guitarist with UFO – returns to a live setting with his classic rock outfit, Temple of Rock.

KING AYISOBA + AYUUNE SULE

SUMMERHALL, 20:00–23:00, £14

Dundee Music

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £15

Kicking off Independent Venue Week at Electric Circus is gospelinfluenced singer/songwriter and producer Matthew E. White (aka he of the enviable hair genes).

Tue 26 Jan

INDEPENDENT VENUE WEEK: THE ROCKTAILS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00

USHER HALL, 19:00–22:00, FROM £32.45

Sat 09 Jan BLACK CAT BONE

INDEPENDENT VENUE WEEK: MATTHEW E. WHITE

BANNERMANS, 22:00–23:00, £5

Edinburgh-based funk-meets-soul unit formed in 2014.

STRAMASH, 22:00–00:00, FREE

STRAMASH, 19:00–22:00, £18

Mark Brzezicki and Bruce Watson continue to tour as Big Country, with new vocalist Simon Hough replacing Stuart Adamson.

The fledgling Scottish rock outfit play as part of Independent Venue Week.

ONEUNDER

Rappers Ivan Ave and multiinstrumentalist Mndsgn play a double-headline Independent Venue Week set, as part of their current joint European tour.

BIG COUNTRY

Young Spanish conductor Antonio Méndez makes his SCO season debut with two powerful symphonies: Haydn’s 99th and Beethoven’s Seventh.

The UK-based rock-meets-metal sludgers make their Edinburgh debut as part of their wider UK tour.

STRAMASH, 00:30–02:30, FREE

Mon 25 Jan

INDEPENDENT VENUE WEEK: IVAN AVE + MNDSGN ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £12

Wed 27 Jan NIGEL KENNEDY

Violinist Nigel Kennedy presents a special acoustic version of his Four Seasons.

INDEPENDENT VENUE WEEK: TEENCANTEEN

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £7

The all-girl pop kids on the block play a special set as part of Independent Venue Week.

Thu 28 Jan CLICK CLACK CLUB

Fri 22 Jan

NOVEMBER LIGHTS (THE SESH + 1950’S IVY LEAGUE) BUSKERS, 19:30–22:00, £TBC

Glagsow indie-pop five-piece fronted by singer/songwriter James Hopkins.

Sat 23 Jan DE ROSA

BEAT GENERATOR LIVE!, 20:00–23:00, £6 ADV. (£8 DOOR)

Lanarkshire trio made up of songwriter Martin John Henry, plus James Woodside (bass) and Neil Woodside (drums), out launching their new LP. Part of Celtic Connections.

Wed 27 Jan

DUNDEE CHAMBER MUSIC: BENYOUNES QUARTET

MARRYAT HALL, 19:30–22:00, £14 (£7)

Winners of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Julius Isserlis Scholarship, the Benyounces Quartet perform a programme of Mozart, Mendelssohn and Debussy.

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:00–22:00, £6 (£4)

Guitar and organ-driven ensemble, formed in 2014 by Dundee-born guitarist Simon Kennedy.

Experimental monthly music club bringing the good times with their Beefheart-inspired funk and special guests.

Mon 11 Jan

Sat 23 Jan

Band of brothers playing an eclectic mix of indie and sax funk, out celebrating Independent Venue Week,

Mon 04 Jan

Fri 29 Jan

Long-running trade night with Normski and Mash spinning the disco beats.

STRAMASH, 19:00–21:00, FREE

MARCO MENDOZA (BETH BLADE & THE BEAUTIFUL DISASTER)

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £11

The bass playing legend plays a mix of solo material and tunes by a selection of the bands of his musical life.

Wed 13 Jan

VENOMOUS CONCEPT (CORRUPT MORAL ALTER + TOMMY CONCRETE & THE WEREWOLVES)

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £13

Grindcore and hardcore punk unit formed by Kevin Sharp and Shane Embury in 2004.

Thu 14 Jan

SCOTTISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA: BRAHMS SYMPHONY NO 3

USHER HALL, 19:30–22:00, FROM £11

German soprano Dorothea Ršschmann joins the SCO for a rendidion of Brahms Symphony No 3, among other works.

DORRE (BURNING LUNG)

BANNERMANS, 22:00–23:00, £6

Belgium instrumentalist of the stoner psych doom variety.

Fri 15 Jan THE RISING SOULS

STRAMASH, 22:00–00:00, FREE

Scottish acoustic rockers infusing their sound with blues and soul.

JUNEBUG

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

Acoustic rock Glasgow quartet blending a mix of distortion with acoustic harmonies.

THE HOLY SMOKES (THE RICH)

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 19:00–22:00, £5

The alternative rock tunesmiths play Henry’s diminutive lair.

Sat 16 Jan SAFEHOUSE

STRAMASH, 19:00–21:00, FREE

Classic blues rock drawing influences from the 60s, rock, blues, psych and beyond.

KRIS KRISTOFFERSEN

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, £32.50

The American country music singer, songwriter, musician and actor hits town with his new LP The Cedar Creek.

HEADSTONE HORRORS (JANE DOE 13)

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £5

The Nottingham horror punk lot make their Bannermans debut.

January 2016

THE BEAT

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £19

The 80s ska band now reformed and performing new compositions.

LINDI ORTEGA

THE MASH HOUSE, 19:00–22:00, £15

The Canadian singer/songwriter does her country-styled-popmeets-rockabilly thing, most likely in cherry-red cowboy boots.

THE BLUESWATER

STRAMASH, 19:00–21:00, FREE

Rockin’ Edinburgh 11-piece resplendent with an old-school r’n’b vibe and a three-horn brass section.

DAUGHTER

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 19:00–22:00, £17.50

Moody and electronic folk-esque melodies from the London-based trio, formerly just the solo work of Elena Tonra.

WITHERED HAND + THE PICTISH TRAIL + JAMES YORKSTON

SUMMERHALL, 20:00–23:00, £15

A trio of stellar Scottish singer/ songwriters share the stage at the latest installment of Summerhall’s Nothing Ever Happens Here gig series.

SHREDINBURGH FESTIVAL 3 (CANCEROUS WOMB + HAAR + HORSEBASTARD + SCORDATURA + NARAYANA + GETS WORSE + GLOOMWEAVER + ZILLAH + DVNE + ATRAGON + WHEELCHAIR X4 + ENDLESS SWARM) STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £10 ADV. (£13 DOOR)

Third annual noise fest, featuring sets from the likes of Cancerous Womb, Haar and Gloomweaver, followed by club shenanigans until 3am.

DANCING ON TABLES (THE STRATS)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

Classic rock sounds from the fivepiece outfit.

INDEPENDENT VENUE WEEK: DED RABBIT

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £TBC

Tue 05 Jan

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £7

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

INDEPENDENT VENUE WEEK: SUGAR PANTHERS

Fledgling supernatural garage rock upstarts, playing as part of Independent Venue Week.

INDEPENDENT VENUE WEEK: HUXTABLE

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £6

The Scottish-based riff-rock duo showcase a selection of tunes as part of Independent Venue Week.

CHARLOTTE MARSHALL AND THE 45’S STRAMASH, 00:30–02:30, FREE

Seven-piece groove ensemble brings a distinctive flavour of retro to the roots scene.

Sat 30 Jan HOLOCAUST

I AM

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Resident chaps Beta & Kappa play their usual fine mix of electronica and bass, oft joined by a guest or two.

Wed 06 Jan TAKE IT SLEAZY

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

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

SUB ROSA

CARA

THE QUEEN’S HALL, 20:00–22:00, £15 (£13)

Traditional Scottish ensemble fronted by two female lead singers: Gudrun Walther and Kim Edgar.

INDEPENDENT VENUE WEEK: CARAVAN CLUB (SKYLINE + REVOLVING DOORS)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £8

The folk-meets-rock Edinburgh ensemble play a hometown set as part of Independent Venue Week.

INDEPENDENT VENUE WEEK: WE WERE PROMISED JETPACKS

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 19:00–22:00, £14

Sun 31 Jan WILL ROBERT

THE LIQUID ROOM, 19:00–22:00, £20

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

Rock’n’roll noisemakers formed back in 1984, out celebrating 30+ years of being.

Eclectic midweeker playing the best in house, techno and electronic – or, in their words ‘casually ignoring shite requests since 2005.’

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Spittal and Nowicki at the helm.

Sun 24 Jan FM

KILLER KITSCH

BANNERMANS, 20:00–23:00, £7

The NWOBHM return to promote their new LP Predator.

Multi-limbed ensemble led by multi-instrumentalist lead singer Kirsten Adamson.

THE HONEYMOONS

BURN

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/FREE WITH TRADE WAGE SLIP)

Intimate stoner trip of a show.

More rolling drums, big guitars and massive effing finales from the WWPJ gang, elbowing their way into the Independent Venue Week proceedings for a special set.

STRAMASH, 22:00–00:00, FREE

Glasgow Clubs

SNEAKY PETE’S, 19:00–22:00, £5

NOVA (THE HYENA KILL + REV OD)

Cambridge musician built on a bed of powerfully melodic vocals and dynamic guitar work.

HARSH TUG NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Hip-hop and gangsta rap brought to you by the Notorious B.A.G and pals.

MISSING PERSONS CLUB

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

Residents-manned evening of the finest techno and house offerings from the MPC crew.

SWITCH

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £3

New night of progressive house, dance and old school played out by DJs James Hollywood and Jamie Firth.

WTF FRIDAYS

SHED, 22:30–02:00, FREE (£6/£4 STUDENT AFTER 11)

Student-friendly Friday night party, playing – as one might expect – cheesy classics of every hue.

Sat 09 Jan

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Thu 07 Jan HIP HOP THURSDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Euan Neilson plays the best in classic r’n’b and hip-hop.

JELLY BABY

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Thursday nighter of chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

PVC

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FREE

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Student-orientated Friday night playing the best in new and classic indie.

OFFBEAT

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4

The Offbeat crew take to their now regular home of La Cheetah for a residents-only slot.

SWITCH

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £3

New night of progressive house, dance and old school played out by DJs James Hollywood and Jamie Firth.

CELTIC CONNECTIONS FESTIVAL CLUB

THE ART SCHOOL, 22:30–03:00, £9

Wed 20 Jan NOT MOVING

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

South African house, grime, jungle, r’n’b and hauntology – a tropical mix, ayes – from yer wumman Laurie Pitt.

SUB ROSA

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Spittal and Nowicki at the helm.

LOVE MUSIC

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Italo, disco, synthpop and funk with the e’er capable Osmium residents.

GUILTY PLEASURE

SHED, 22:30–02:00, £7 (£5)

Frothy mix of guilty pleasures, old and new, for your Saturday night dancing needs.

FWDK

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, £4 ADV. (£6 DOOR/£5 STUDENT)

Southern rap club night, playing everything from 90s Memphis rap tapes to modern lo-fi. Free mix cassette for the first 50 down.

WE SHOULD HANG OUT MORE: AFRICAN DISCO SPECIAL (JD TWITCH)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Worshipping disco in all its myriad glitterball forms, We Should Hang Out More kicks off 2016 – welcoming one half of the Optimo tag-team, JD Twitch, for an ‘African Disco Special’, raising funds for charity.

Mon 11 Jan BURN

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/FREE WITH WAGE SLIP)

Long-running trade night with Normski and Mash spinning the disco beats.

Tue 12 Jan KILLER KITSCH

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Eclectic midweeker playing the best in house, techno and electronic – or, in their words ‘casually ignoring shite requests since 2005.’

I AM

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Resident chaps Beta & Kappa play their usual fine mix of electronica and bass, oft joined by a guest or two.

SHED, 22:30–02:00, FREE (£6/£4 STUDENT AFTER 11)

Student-friendly Friday night party, playing – as one might expect – cheesy classics of every hue.

ANIMAL FARM (BLUE HOUR)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 ADV. (£8 DOOR)

The Animal Farm troops beat away the January blues with a big ol’ techno stick, welcoming Berlin’s Blue Hour for a guest takeover.

Sat 16 Jan NU SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

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

SUBCULTURE

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic manning the decks.

LOVE MUSIC

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests.

SYMBIOSIS (LD50 + HEX + CALACO JACK + YELLOWBENZENE + ALCANE)

BROADCAST, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Innovative D’n’B beats in a relaxed, bass-rich environment.

GUILTY PLEASURE

SHED, 22:30–02:00, £7 (£5)

Frothy mix of guilty pleasures, old and new, for your Saturday night dancing needs.

CELTIC CONNECTIONS FESTIVAL CLUB

THE ART SCHOOL, 22:30–03:00, £9

Late night social hub for post-gig Celtic Connections fun, with live jam line-ups divulged on’t night.

Hosted by Kevin Macleod.

CODE (KWARTZ)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, FROM £6

More underground techno offerings as Code gets its 2016 residency at La Cheetah underway with a guest set from industrial techno specialist Kwartz, of Oscar Mulero’s PoleGroup.

THE KIBOSH VS VOID

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Wed 13 Jan

The two nights go head-to-head for twice the mischief.

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Mon 18 Jan

SUB ROSA

HIP HOP THURSDAYS

BURN

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/FREE WITH WAGE SLIP)

Long-running trade night with Normski and Mash spinning the disco beats.

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Tue 19 Jan

JELLY BABY

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Euan Neilson plays the best in classic r’n’b and hip-hop.

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Thursday nighter of chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

PVC

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FREE

All-new Thursday nighter playing r’n’b, pop, hip-hop and more, plus live dance and performance.

KILLER KITSCH

Eclectic midweeker playing the best in house, techno and electronic – or, in their words ‘casually ignoring shite requests since 2005.’

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests.

GUILTY PLEASURE

SHED, 22:30–02:00, £7 (£5)

Frothy mix of guilty pleasures, old and new, for your Saturday night dancing needs.

CELTIC CONNECTIONS FESTIVAL CLUB

THE ART SCHOOL, 22:30–03:00, £9

Late night social hub for post-gig Celtic Connections fun, with live jam line-ups divulged on’t night.

Hosted by Kevin Macleod.

SLEAZE (HANS BOUFFMYHRE + LEX GORRIE)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

Thu 21 Jan

Sun 24 Jan

HUNTLEY AND PALMERS

H+P’s Andrew and pals play tunes across the board.

HIP HOP THURSDAYS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Mixed bag of house and techno obscurities.

LOVE MUSIC

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

WTF FRIDAYS

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic manning the decks.

DARK PARTIALS PROJECT

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic manning the decks.

Sleaze Records’ very own techno brothers Hans Bouffmyhre and Lex Gorrie share the decks for the evening.

SUBCULTURE

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8

Thu 14 Jan

PROPAGANDA

PROPAGANDA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Student-orientated Friday night playing the best in new and classic indie.

Thursday nighter of chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

Fri 08 Jan BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul for your jivin’ pleasure.

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Resident chaps Beta & Kappa play their usual fine mix of electronica and bass, oft joined by a guest or two.

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

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

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Spittal and Nowicki at the helm.

Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul for your jivin’ pleasure.

OLD SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

I AM

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

NU SKOOL

All-new Thursday nighter playing r’n’b, pop, hip-hop and more, plus live dance and performance.

OLD SKOOL

Fri 15 Jan

Late night social hub for post-gig Celtic Connections fun, with live jam line-ups divulged on’t night.

Hosted by Kevin Macleod.

OSMIUM

The Ghanaian pop trailblazer headlines the latest installment of Summerhall’s Nothing Ever Happens Here gig series, joined by by fellow legendary Ghanaian kologo player, Ayuune Sule.

THE SIMON KENNEDY BAND

Glasgow Clubs

SUBCULTURE SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Euan Neilson plays the best in classic r’n’b and hip-hop.

JELLY BABY

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

IN THE BASEMENT

Thursday session of the finest in northern soul and rock’n’roll.

PVC

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FREE

All-new Thursday nighter playing r’n’b, pop, hip-hop and more, plus live dance and performance.

STEREOTONE (TENEMENT VS WHEELMAN + HUNCH VS BAROW XL + YAN)

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

Stereotone celebrate their first 2016 outing with a series of backto-back sets, including Tenement and Wheelman locking horns for a special Baltimore/Jersey/Philly club set.

Fri 22 Jan OLD SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul for your jivin’ pleasure.

PROPAGANDA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Student-orientated Friday night playing the best in new and classic indie.

REVOLVER (THE RADIOS)

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 19:30–22:00, £7

HARDSTYLE SUPERHEROES

O2 ACADEMY GLASGOW, 20:00–03:00, £15

The Glasgow hardstyle club returns with a bounty of acts to perk up your January, amongst them Deetox and Audio-Freq.

CATHEDRAL ENGINE (CHIGS + TECHIP + EX-SERVICEMEN + A VENGEANCE + PREGNANT BODYBUILDER) STEREO, 23:00–03:00, £5

Acid hardware, industrial hip-hop and dark dub techno jazz collide in a night of psychedelic visuals and curious artistic enigma, raising funds for Women’s Aid.

Mon 25 Jan BURN

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3/FREE WITH WAGE SLIP)

Long-running trade night with Normski and Mash spinning the disco beats.

Tue 26 Jan KILLER KITSCH

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Eclectic midweeker playing the best in house, techno and electronic – or, in their words ‘casually ignoring shite requests since 2005.’

I AM

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Resident chaps Beta & Kappa play their usual fine mix of electronica and bass, oft joined by a guest or two.

Wed 27 Jan SUB ROSA

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

Cumbernauld and Kilsyth-straddling rock’n’roll troupe.

Subbie’s regular student night with residents Spittal and Nowicki at the helm.

CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £3

Thu 28 Jan

SWITCH

New night of progressive house, dance and old school played out by DJs James Hollywood and Jamie Firth.

CELTIC CONNECTIONS FESTIVAL CLUB

THE ART SCHOOL, 22:30–03:00, £9

Late night social hub for post-gig Celtic Connections fun, with live jam line-ups divulged on’t night.

Hosted by Kevin Macleod.

WTF FRIDAYS

SHED, 22:30–02:00, FREE (£6/£4 STUDENT AFTER 11)

Student-friendly Friday night party, playing – as one might expect – cheesy classics of every hue.

ESBAT OV ECDYSIS

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £3

Launch of an all-new experimental African disco brought to you by Glasgow DJ Letitia Pleaides.

NITRIC 9: BASSKICK OBLIVION (DAVE SHADES + MOODYBINZ + PARTISAN + HEATH SWEDGER) THE FLYING DUCK, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£3)

The Bangface legends and underground hardcore grime warriors spearhead a night of gabber, jump up, juke, D’n’B, and noisy 90s rave.

Raising funds for Women’s Aid.

Sat 23 Jan NU SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

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

HIP HOP THURSDAYS

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£3)

Euan Neilson plays the best in classic r’n’b and hip-hop.

JELLY BABY

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £4

Thursday nighter of chart, disco and party tunes. Can’t say fairer.

LANCE VANCE DANCE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, FREE

Red-hued adventure travelling through 70s funk, motown and 80s r’n’b, highlighted with glorious rays of disco sunshine. Or summat.

PVC

THE ART SCHOOL, 23:00–03:00, FREE

All-new Thursday nighter playing r’n’b, pop, hip-hop and more, plus live dance and performance.

Fri 29 Jan OLD SKOOL

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

Connoisseur’s mix of old-school jazz, funk and soul for your jivin’ pleasure.

PROPAGANDA

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

Student-orientated Friday night playing the best in new and classic indie.

STRANGE PARADISE

NICE ‘N’ SLEAZY, 23:30–03:00, £TBC

Party night from floral-shirted Wild Combination man David Barbarossa, specializing in leftfield disco, post-punk and far-out pop.

Listings

51

SWITCH CLASSIC GRAND, 23:00–03:00, £3

New night of progressive house, dance and old school played out by DJs James Hollywood and Jamie Firth.

CELTIC CONNECTIONS FESTIVAL CLUB

THE ART SCHOOL, 22:30–03:00, £9

Edinburgh Clubs JUICE SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£2 AFTER 12/MEMBERS FREE)

Tue 12 Jan I LOVE HIP HOP

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4

BUBBLEGUM THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Saturday mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure.

Late night social hub for post-gig Celtic Connections fun, with live jam line-ups divulged on’t night.

Hosted by Kevin Macleod.

Pumped Thursday nighter with the resident DJs making weird waves through house and techno.

SHED, 22:30–02:00, FREE (£6/£4 STUDENT AFTER 11)

Early weekend-welcoming (y’know, for students) chart anthems, bolstered by hip-hop, r’n’b and urban in the back room.

Alternative Tuesday anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more.

Fri 08 Jan

The HH crew serve up their usual fine mix of electronic basslines cooked up with house beats.

Raw, high energy r’n’b from DJs Francis Dosoo and Cameron Mason.

Wed 13 Jan

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£6 AFTER 12)

WTF FRIDAYS

Student-friendly Friday night party, playing – as one might expect – cheesy classics of every hue.

EZUP (DJ DEEP)

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 EARLYBIRD (£8 THEREAFTER)

French house torchbearer and Deeply Rooted head honcho DJ Deep stops by for a guest set at EzUp.

HI-SOCIETY

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

FUCK YEAH

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Friday-ready chart, indie and rock anthems spread over two rooms.

FOUR CORNERS

O2 ABC, 23:00–03:00, £5

NOTSOSILENT

LA CHEETAH CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Belch and crew bring the best in underground house once more, with guests still to be revealed.

GUILTY PLEASURE

SHED, 22:30–02:00, £7 (£5)

Frothy mix of guilty pleasures, old and new, for your Saturday night dancing needs.

CELTIC CONNECTIONS FESTIVAL CLUB

THE ART SCHOOL, 22:30–03:00, £9

Late night social hub for post-gig Celtic Connections fun, with live jam line-ups divulged on’t night.

Hosted by Kevin Macleod.

SUBCULTURE (MASSIMILIANO PAGLIARA)

SUB CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Long-running house night with residents Harri & Domenic manning the decks, this edition joined by electronic DJ maestro Massimiliano Pagliara.

Edinburgh Clubs Mon 04 Jan MIXED UP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Monday-brightening mix of hiphop, r’n’b and chart classics, with requests in the back room.

NU FIRE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

DJ Fusion and Beef servin’ up the hip-hop and bass classics since 2008.

Tue 05 Jan TRASH

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative Tuesday anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more.

HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £4

The HH crew serve up their usual fine mix of electronic basslines cooked up with house beats.

Wed 06 Jan COOKIE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Resident midweek student rammy of chart, club and electro hits.

WITNESS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£2 AFTER 12/MEMBERS FREE)

House, garage and Bass adventures with Blackwax and Faultlines.

TRIBE

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£3)

Weekly selection of dance bangers played by residents Khalid Count Clockwork and Craig Wilson.

Thu 07 Jan TRUANT

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Fledgling club night playing and anything and everything good, with special guests to boot.

52

Listings

COOKIE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

PROPAGANDA

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4 GUESTLIST)

Saturday night disco manned by your man Gerry Lyons and guests.

HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £4

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£2 AFTER 12/MEMBERS FREE)

BUFF CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£6)

LOVE MUSIC

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Resident midweek student rammy of chart, club and electro hits.

Sat 30 Jan Nick Peacock spins a Saturdayready selection of vintage disco, soul and funk.

TRASH

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

Soulful dancing fodder, moving from deep funk to reggae.

NU SKOOL

Weekly selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be.

Student-orientated Friday night playing the best in new and classic indie.

FLY CLUB

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent.

ANYTHING GOES WHEN BREAKING THE BASSLINE

STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £5

Eclectic night of electro, house and techno offerings – this edition with a neon rave theme – with a free prize for the first 100 down.

SURE SHOT (JAMES HAMILTON)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£3 AFTER 12)

Fledgling night spanning 80s-00s hip-hop and r’n’b, manned by The Skinny’s own Peter Simpson and one half of Edinburgh’s Kitchen Disco, Malcolm Storey - this edition joined by Errors drummer James Hamilton.

WITNESS

House, garage and Bass adventures with Blackwax and Faultlines.

TRIBE

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£3)

Weekly selection of dance bangers played by residents Khalid Count Clockwork and Craig Wilson.

LOCO KAMANCHI

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4 GUESTLIST)

Midweek fun night playing soul, funk, jazz, ska, disco and more.

Thu 14 Jan TRUANT

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Fledgling club night playing and anything and everything good, with special guests to boot.

JUICE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£2 AFTER 12/MEMBERS FREE)

Pumped Thursday nighter with the resident DJs making weird waves through house and techno.

HULLABALOO

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Sat 09 Jan

Mash-up of beats, breaks and hip-hop from Trendy Wendy and Steve Austin.

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

BUBBLEGUM

Saturday mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure.

BIG ‘N’ BASHY

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£6 AFTER 12)

Mighty mix of reggae, grime, dubstep and jungle played by inimitable residents Brother Most Righteous, Skillis, Era and Deburgh.

DR NO’S

HENRY’S CELLAR BAR, 23:00–03:00, £4 (£6 AFTER 12)

HI-SOCIETY

Early weekend-welcoming (y’know, for students) chart anthems, bolstered by hip-hop, r’n’b and urban in the back room.

Fri 15 Jan FUCK YEAH

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Friday-ready chart, indie and rock anthems spread over two rooms.

PROPAGANDA

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4 GUESTLIST)

Danceable mix of the best in 60s ska, rocksteady, bluebeat and early reggae.

Student-orientated Friday night playing the best in new and classic indie.

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 12/MEMBERS FREE)

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, FREE (£3 AFTER 12)

TEESH

DJ Cheers – frequent flyer at many a Sneaky’s night – finally gets his own show on the road.

BEEP BEEP YEAH!

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£6 AFTER 12)

Retro pop stylings from the 50s to the 70s, via a disco tune or ten.

WUB HUT: THE WUB AWAKENS

STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £5

Dub and tropical selections prettied up by bespoke décor, this edition with a Star Wars theme.

Sun 10 Jan COALITION

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Weekly bass institution hosted by DJ Believe and pals.

THE CLUB

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle on a Sunday.

Mon 11 Jan MIXED UP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Monday-brightening mix of hiphop, r’n’b and chart classics, with requests in the back room.

NU FIRE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

DJ Fusion and Beef servin’ up the hip-hop and bass classics since 2008.

POP TARTS

Pop and rock gems spun by DJs from Electric Circus’ Saturday club nights, including Magic Nostalgic, Beep Beep, Yeah! and Pop Rocks.

FLY CLUB

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent.

TELFORT’S GOOD PLACE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 12/MEMBERS FREE)

Edinburgh DJ and producer Telfort introduces his own party night; expect mixes of ethereal house, leftfield hip-hop and techno thumpers.

HEADSET (GROOVE CHRONICLES)

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £7 (£5)

Old school UK garage legend Noodles (aka Groove Chronicles) joins Headset for a one off UKG special, with support from Guised and Skillis.

Sat 16 Jan THE EGG

WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

Art School institution with DJs Chris and Jake playing the finest in indie, garage, soul and punk – now taking up a monthly Saturday slot, in what is their 20-somethingth year.

THE GREEN DOOR

STUDIO 24, 22:30–03:00, £2 (£5/£4 STUDENT AFTER 11)

Surf, blues and rockabilly from the 50s and early 60s, plus free cake.

Job done.

SOULSVILLE

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5

POP ROCKS

Pop and rock gems, taking in motown, 80s classics and plenty danceable fare (well, the Beep Beep Yeah! crew are on decks after all).

DECADE

STUDIO 24, 22:30–03:00, £2 (£5/£4 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Fresh playlists spanning metal, pop-punk and alternative soundscapes.

WASABI DISCO

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–05:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 12/MEMBERS FREE)

Yer man Kris ‘Wasabi’ Walker plays selections of wonky disco and sleazy throbbers.

Sun 17 Jan

HI-SOCIETY

WITNESS

NO MORE FUCKING ABBA

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£2 AFTER 12/MEMBERS FREE)

WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 12)

Early weekend-welcoming (y’know, for students) chart anthems, bolstered by hip-hop, r’n’b and urban in the back room.

Fri 22 Jan

Weekly selection of dance bangers played by residents Khalid Count Clockwork and Craig Wilson.

PROPAGANDA

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4 GUESTLIST)

FUCK YEAH

Friday-ready chart, indie and rock anthems spread over two rooms.

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4 GUESTLIST)

Student-orientated Friday night playing the best in new and classic indie.

FLY CLUB

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent.

HEY QT!

WEE RED BAR, 22:30–03:00, £3

Sweaty dance disco for queer folk and their pals.

MEGADOG SOUND SYSTEM

STUDIO 24, 23:00–03:00, £10

Mon 18 Jan MIXED UP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Monday-brightening mix of hiphop, r’n’b and chart classics, with requests in the back room.

NU FIRE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

DJ Fusion and Beef servin’ up the hip-hop and bass classics since 2008.

Tue 19 Jan I LOVE HIP HOP

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4

Weekly selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be.

TRASH

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative Tuesday anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more.

HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £4

The Substance crew mix up cutting edge and classic electronic music from across the spectrum.

LOOSEN UP (DAVID BARBAROSSA + FERGUS CLARK + CHARLIE MCCANN)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 12/MEMBERS FREE)

BUBBLEGUM

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Saturday mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure.

POP TARTS

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£6 AFTER 12)

Pop and rock gems spun by DJs from Electric Circus’ Saturday club nights, including Magic Nostalgic, Beep Beep, Yeah! and Pop Rocks.

MESSENGER SOUND SYSTEM

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £6 (£7 AFTER 12)

Conscious roots and dub reggae rockin’ from the usual beefy Messenger soundsystem.

DEFINITION

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 12/MEMBERS FREE)

Mark Balneaves and Martin Lightbody host their underground house and techno party

Sun 24 Jan COALITION

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–05:00, FREE

Weekly bass institution hosted by DJ Believe and pals.

Wed 20 Jan

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle on a Sunday.

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Resident midweek student rammy of chart, club and electro hits.

WITNESS

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£2 AFTER 12/MEMBERS FREE)

THE CLUB

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Mon 25 Jan MIXED UP

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

House, garage and Bass adventures with Blackwax and Faultlines.

Monday-brightening mix of hiphop, r’n’b and chart classics, with requests in the back room.

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£3)

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

TRIBE

Weekly selection of dance bangers played by residents Khalid Count Clockwork and Craig Wilson.

LOCO KAMANCHI

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £5 (£4 GUESTLIST)

Midweek fun night playing soul, funk, jazz, ska, disco and more.

Thu 21 Jan TRUANT

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Fledgling club night playing and anything and everything good, with special guests to boot.

JUICE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 12/MEMBERS FREE)

Pumped Thursday nighter with the resident DJs making weird waves through house and techno.

HULLABALOO

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

Mash-up of beats, breaks and hip-hop from Trendy Wendy and Steve Austin.

TRUANT

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £TBC

Fledgling club night playing and anything and everything good, with special guests to boot.

JUICE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£2 AFTER 12/MEMBERS FREE)

Pumped Thursday nighter with the resident DJs making weird waves through house and techno.

HULLABALOO

NU FIRE

DJ Fusion and Beef servin’ up the hip-hop and bass classics since 2008.

Tue 26 Jan I LOVE HIP HOP

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £4

Weekly selection of hip-hop classics and brand-new classics to be.

TRASH

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Alternative Tuesday anthems cherrypicked from genres of rock, indie, punk, retro and more.

HECTOR’S HOUSE

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £4

The HH crew serve up their usual fine mix of electronic basslines cooked up with house beats.

Wed 27 Jan COOKIE

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Resident midweek student rammy of chart, club and electro hits.

New alternative indie dance party for the queer at heart, with Abba tunes firmly banned. Rejoice!

KEEP IT STEEL: BURNS NIGHT IN HELL

STUDIO 24, 22:00–03:00, £5

HI-SOCIETY

Early weekend-welcoming (y’know, for students) chart anthems, bolstered by hip-hop, r’n’b and urban in the back room.

Fri 29 Jan FUCK YEAH

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Friday-ready chart, indie and rock anthems spread over two rooms.

PROPAGANDA

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £5 (£4 GUESTLIST)

Student-orientated Friday night playing the best in new and classic indie.

STACKS

THE MASH HOUSE, 23:00–03:00, £5

Rare funk, soul and r’n’b night, with free mix CDs on the door.

MJÖLK

WEE RED BAR, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£5 AFTER 11.30)

Regular fun night playing the finest in Swedish indie pop, plus 60s, 70s and independent tunes from near and far.

FLY CLUB

CABARET VOLTAIRE, 23:00–03:00, £7

Edinburgh and Glasgow-straddling night, with a powerhouse of local residents joined by a selection of guest talent.

NOTSOSILENT

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 12/MEMBERS FREE)

Belch and crew bring the best in underground house once more, with guests still to be revealed.

OPTIMO ESPACIO

SUMMERHALL, 22:00–03:00, £10

The legendary DJ tag-team of Optimo take over The Dissection Room space for a one-off Optimo (Espacio) event, as part of Summerhall’s Nothing Ever Happens Here gig series.

ELECTRIKAL (APHRODITE)

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £8 ADV. (£10 DOOR)

Soundsystem party-starters, part of a music and art collective specialising in all things bass – this edition joined by Aphrodite, playing a three-hour ‘hostory of d’n’b’ set.

Sat 30 Jan MUMBO JUMBO

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£7/£5 STUDENT AFTER 12)

Funk, soul, beats and mash-ups from the Mumbo Jumbo regulars and pals.

BUBBLEGUM

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

Saturday mix of chart and dance, with retro 80s classics thrown in for good measure.

RIDE

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE (£5 AFTER 12/MEMBERS FREE)

The Ride girls play hip-hop and dance, all night long – now in their new party-ready Saturday night slot.

THE POP BINGO DISCO

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, £7 (£8 AFTER 12)

Clubbing-meets-bingo (finally, right?), with danceable beats and live bingo.

ROOMS THURSDAYS

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £4 (£5 AFTER 11.30)

Thursday nighter (as the name would suggest), with Dunc4an, Typewriter and guests playing anything and everything ‘good’.

All the usual metal nonsense plus the inaugural Keep It Steel Highland Games.

Fri 29 Jan

Sun 31 Jan

Ska, screamo and pop-punk offerings now in a weekly Friday slot, moving from Alkaline Trio to Zebrahead as it goes.

COALITION

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

Weekly bass institution hosted by DJ Believe and pals.

THE CLUB

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle on a Sunday.

SUCH A DRAG

WARPED

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Sat 30 Jan ASYLUM

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative tunes to get your Saturday night movin’.

ELECTRIC CIRCUS, 22:30–03:00, FREE

New monthly drag club night with emphasis on all things risqué, with live burlesque and the like.

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £3 (£2)

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

The HH crew serve up their usual fine mix of electronic basslines cooked up with house beats.

COOKIE

Thu 28 Jan

THE BONGO CLUB, 23:00–03:00, £10

SUBSTANCE

Sat 23 Jan

Two rooms of all the chart, cheese and indie-pop you can think of/ handle on a Sunday.

Midweek fun night playing soul, funk, jazz, ska, disco and more.

Mash-up of beats, breaks and hip-hop from Trendy Wendy and Steve Austin.

THE HIVE, 22:00–03:00, FREE

THE CLUB

LOCO KAMANCHI

Sound system night with sets from Eat Static, Egebamyasi, Fox Trot and Master Of Ceremonies Teabag.

Weekly bass institution hosted by DJ Believe and pals.

SNEAKY PETE’S, 23:00–03:00, FREE

TRIBE

THE LIQUID ROOM, 22:30–03:00, £6 (£3)

THE HIVE, 21:00–03:00, FREE (£4 AFTER 10)

A trio fo DJs sift through the finest in synthy soca, tropical treats, afro action, far flung funk follies and daft drunken disco dub.

COALITION

House, garage and Bass adventures with Blackwax and Faultlines.

Thu 28 Jan

Dundee Clubs Thu 07 Jan ROOMS THURSDAYS

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £4 (£5 AFTER 11.30)

Thursday nighter (as the name would suggest), with Dunc4an, Typewriter and guests playing anything and everything ‘good’.

Fri 08 Jan WARPED

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Ska, screamo and pop-punk offerings now in a weekly Friday slot, moving from Alkaline Trio to Zebrahead as it goes.

Sat 09 Jan ASYLUM

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative tunes to get your Saturday night movin’.

Thu 14 Jan ROOMS THURSDAYS

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £4 (£5 AFTER 11.30)

Thursday nighter (as the name would suggest), with Dunc4an, Typewriter and guests playing anything and everything ‘good’.

Fri 15 Jan

PHAZED (ADESSE VERSIONS)

READING ROOMS, 22:30–03:00, £8

Two of Dundee’s younger veterans – Teddy Hannan and Correlate & George – continue their new addition to the Reading Rooms roster, this time with special guest Adesse Versions in tow.

WARPED

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Ska, screamo and pop-punk offerings now in a weekly Friday slot, moving from Alkaline Trio to Zebrahead as it goes.

Sat 16 Jan ASYLUM

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative tunes to get your Saturday night movin’.

Thu 21 Jan ROOMS THURSDAYS

READING ROOMS, 22:30–02:30, £4 (£5 AFTER 11.30)

Thursday nighter (as the name would suggest), with Dunc4an, Typewriter and guests playing anything and everything ‘good’.

Fri 22 Jan WARPED

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Ska, screamo and pop-punk offerings now in a weekly Friday slot, moving from Alkaline Trio to Zebrahead as it goes.

Sat 23 Jan ASYLUM

KAGE, 23:00–03:00, £4

Best of selection of rock, metal and alternative tunes to get your Saturday night movin’.

Glasgow Comedy Mon 04 Jan IMPROV WARS

THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £6

More improvised comedy games and sketches, with an unpredictable anything-goes attitude – as it should be.

Tue 05 Jan RED RAW

THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Wed 06 Jan NEW MATERIAL NIGHT

YESBAR, 20:00–22:00, £3

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering all new material.

COMEDIAN RAP BATTLES

THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£4)

Ro Cambell and The Wee Man’s comedian rap battle-off, where a select batch of comics compete to see who’s got the most swagger when it comes to hippity-hop wit.

Thu 07 Jan

THE THURSDAY SHOW (MARK NELSON + WILL-E + DAISY EARL + RAJ CHOWDHURY + MC BILLY KIRKWOOD) THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

YESPBAR VIRGINS

YESBAR, 21:00–22:30, £3

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

Fri 08 Jan

THE FRIDAY SHOW (MARK NELSON + WILL-E + DAISY EARL + RAJ CHOWDHURY + MC BILLY KIRKWOOD) THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£10 STUDENTS/£6 MEMBERS)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

LAUGHTER EIGHT

YESBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

Regular comedy slot kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent from the local circuit.

Sat 09 Jan

THE SATURDAY SHOW (MARK NELSON + WILL-E + DAISY EARL + RAJ CHOWDHURY + MC BILLY KIRKWOOD) THE STAND GLASGOW, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

LAUGHTER EIGHT

YESBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

Regular comedy slot kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent from the local circuit.

Sun 10 Jan

GLASGOW KIDS COMEDY CLUB

THE STAND GLASGOW, 15:00–16:00, £4

Comedy session suitable for little ears (i.e. no sweary words), for children aged 8-12 years-old.

THE SKINNY

Comedy MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE (VIV GEE + DEREK JOHNSTON + MC MICHAEL REDMOND) THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5 STUDENTS/£1 MEMBERS)

Chilled Sunday comedy showcase manned by resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond and his handpicked guests.

VESPBAR VIRGINS: COMEDY SUNDAY SCHOOL

YESBAR, 20:00–21:30, £3

A selection of five fledgling comedians do their best to win over the audience and graduate Vespbar’s ‘Comedy Sunday School’.

Mon 11 Jan

WATCH BAD MOVIES WITH GREAT COMEDIANS: THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN

CCA: CENTRE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART, 19:30–21:30, £6

Returning for s’more mockery of a shit film of their choosing, comics Joe Heenan and Billy Kirkwood provide laugh-along commentary to epic failure of a blockbuster, The Leage of Extraordinary Gentleman.

Tue 12 Jan RED RAW

THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Wed 13 Jan NEW MATERIAL NIGHT

YESBAR, 20:00–22:00, £3

Tue 19 Jan RED RAW

THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Wed 20 Jan NEW MATERIAL NIGHT

YESBAR, 20:00–22:00, £3

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering all new material.

GLASGOW WOMEN’S AID BENEFIT (JOJO SUTHERLAND + CHRISTOPHER MACARTHUR BOYD) THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £7 (£5)

Comedy fundraiser in aid of Glasgow Women’s Aid.

Thu 21 Jan

THE THURSDAY SHOW (RUDI LICKWOOD + JARLATH REGAN + DOGSHIT JOHNSTON + MC JOJO SUTHERLAND)

THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

YESPBAR VIRGINS

YESBAR, 21:00–22:30, £3

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

Fri 22 Jan

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering all new material.

THE FRIDAY SHOW (RUDI LICKWOOD + ANDY FURY + ELEANOR MORTON + GARETH MUTCH + MC JOE HEENAN)

Thu 14 Jan

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

THE THURSDAY SHOW (CARL DONNELLY + JOJO SMITH + PHIL DIFFER + MC SCOTT AGNEW)

THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

YESPBAR VIRGINS

YESBAR, 21:00–22:30, £3

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

Fri 15 Jan

THE FRIDAY SHOW (CARL DONNELLY + JOJO SMITH + PHIL DIFFER + MC SCOTT AGNEW) THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£10 STUDENTS/£6 MEMBERS)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

LAUGHTER EIGHT

YESBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

Regular comedy slot kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent from the local circuit.

Sat 16 Jan

THE SATURDAY SHOW (CARL DONNELLY + JOJO SMITH + PHIL DIFFER + MC SCOTT AGNEW)

THE STAND GLASGOW, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

LAUGHTER EIGHT

YESBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

Regular comedy slot kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent from the local circuit.

Sun 17 Jan

MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE (JOJO SMITH + ROB KANE + STUART MCPHERSON + MC MICHAEL REDMOND)

THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5 STUDENTS/£1 MEMBERS)

Chilled Sunday comedy showcase manned by resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond and his handpicked guests.

VESPBAR VIRGINS: COMEDY SUNDAY SCHOOL

YESBAR, 20:00–21:30, £3

A selection of five fledgling comedians do their best to win over the audience and graduate Vespbar’s ‘Comedy Sunday School’.

January 2016

THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£10 STUDENTS/£6 MEMBERS)

LAUGHTER EIGHT

YESBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

Regular comedy slot kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent from the local circuit.

Sat 23 Jan

THE SATURDAY SHOW (RUDI LICKWOOD + ANDY FURY + ELEANOR MORTON + GARETH MUTCH + MC JOE HEENAN)

THE STAND GLASGOW, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

LAUGHTER EIGHT

YESBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

Regular comedy slot kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent from the local circuit.

Sun 24 Jan

BURNS NIGHT SPECIAL (DAVID KAY + SUSIE MCCABE + MIKEY ADAMS)

THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5)

The Stand celebrate Rabbie Burns’ birthday with a line-up of strictly homegrown talent.

VESPBAR VIRGINS: COMEDY SUNDAY SCHOOL

YESBAR, 20:00–21:30, £3

A selection of five fledgling comedians do their best to win over the audience and graduate Vespbar’s ‘Comedy Sunday School’.

Mon 25 Jan

SO... THAT WAS JANUARY?

THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £7 (£5)

Messrs McTavish, Nelson and McAllister return with another show in their pre/post-election series – offering leftfield stand-up, chat and comment on the political state of the world.

Tue 26 Jan RED RAW

THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Wed 27 Jan NEW MATERIAL NIGHT

YESBAR, 20:00–22:00, £3

Resident host Julia Sutherland introduces a variety of stand-up comedians from the Scottish circuit delivering all new material.

MAZ’S MAGGIES BENEFIT (DES CLARKE + SCOTT GIBSON + GRAHAM MACKIE + MC SUSIE MCCABE) THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £8

Annual comedy fundraiser in aid of Maggie’s Centre Glasgow, with Susie McCabe the lucky lass keeping a trio of live acts in check.

Thu 28 Jan

Edinburgh Comedy Mon 04 Jan RED RAW

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 20:30–22:30, £2

THE THURSDAY SHOW (NICK WILTY + TONY JAMESON + MC SUSAN MORRISON)

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

Tue 05 Jan

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

YESPBAR VIRGINS

YESBAR, 21:00–22:30, £3

Graham Barrie introduces a selection of fledgling comedy talent handpicked fae Scotland.

LIMMY LIVE!

SECC, 20:00–22:00, FROM £22

The Scottish comic and creator of daily podcast Limmy’s World of Glasgow presents a series of his sketches on the live stage for the first time, playing over four consecutive nights.

Fri 29 Jan

THE FRIDAY SHOW (NICK WILTY + TONY JAMESON + MC SUSAN MORRISON) THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £12 (£10 STUDENTS/£6 MEMBERS)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

LAUGHTER EIGHT

YESBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

Regular comedy slot kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent from the local circuit.

LIMMY LIVE!

SECC, 20:00–22:00, FROM £22

The Scottish comic and creator of daily podcast Limmy’s World of Glasgow presents a series of his sketches on the live stage for the first time, playing over four consecutive nights.

Sat 30 Jan

THE SATURDAY SHOW (NICK WILTY + TONY JAMESON + MC SUSAN MORRISON) THE STAND GLASGOW, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

LAUGHTER EIGHT

YESBAR, 20:00–21:30, £8

Regular comedy slot kicking off at, aye, 8pm – manned by a selection of hot talent from the local circuit.

LIMMY LIVE!

SECC, 20:00–22:00, FROM £22

The Scottish comic and creator of daily podcast Limmy’s World of Glasgow presents a series of his sketches on the live stage for the first time, playing over four consecutive nights.

Sun 31 Jan

MICHAEL REDMOND’S SUNDAY SERVICE (TONY JAMESON + THE WEE MAN + SCOTT LAIRD + MC MICHAEL REDMOND)

THE STAND GLASGOW, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5 STUDENTS/£1 MEMBERS)

Chilled Sunday comedy showcase manned by resident Irish funnyman Michael Redmond and his handpicked guests.

VESPBAR VIRGINS: COMEDY SUNDAY SCHOOL

YESBAR, 20:00–21:30, £3

A selection of five fledgling comedians do their best to win over the audience and graduate Vespbar’s ‘Comedy Sunday School’.

LIMMY LIVE!

SECC, 20:00–22:00, FROM £22

The Scottish comic and creator of daily podcast Limmy’s World of Glasgow presents a series of his sketches on the live stage for the first time, playing over four consecutive nights.

RICHARD MELVIN PRESENTS... RADIO RECORDINGS

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 20:00–21:00, FREE (BUT TICKETED)

Funnyman Richard Melvin introduces an all-star cast of comedy stalwarts currently recording radio shows. And all for gratis!

Thu 07 Jan

THE THURSDAY SHOW (RUDI LICKWOOD + ANDY FURY + ELEANOR MORTON + GARETH MUTCH + MC JOE HEENAN)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Fri 08 Jan

THE FRIDAY SHOW (RUDI LICKWOOD + ANDY FURY + ELEANOR MORTON + GARETH MUTCH + MC JOE HEENAN) THE STAND EDINBURGH, 21:00–23:00, £12 (£10 STUDENT/£6 MEMBERS)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY FRIDAY SHOW

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £10

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. See Facebook on the day for line-ups.

Sat 09 Jan

THE SATURDAY SHOW (RUDI LICKWOOD + ANDY FURY + ELEANOR MORTON + GARETH MUTCH + MC JOE HEENAN)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

Thu 14 Jan

Fri 22 Jan

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 21:00–23:00, £12 (£10 STUDENT/£6 MEMBERS)

THE THURSDAY SHOW (STEVE HALL + PAT CAHILL + JAMIE DALGLEISH + MC STU MURPHY)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

Fri 15 Jan

THE FRIDAY SHOW (STEVE HALL + PAT CAHILL + JAMIE DALGLEISH + MC STU MURPHY)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 21:00–23:00, £12 (£10 STUDENT/£6 MEMBERS)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY FRIDAY SHOW

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £10

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. See Facebook on the day for line-ups.

Sat 16 Jan

THE SATURDAY SHOW (STEVE HALL + PAT CAHILL + JAMIE DALGLEISH + MC STU MURPHY) THE STAND EDINBURGH, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY SATURDAY SHOW

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £10

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. See Facebook on the day for line-ups.

Sun 17 Jan

THE SUNDAY NIGHT LAUGH-IN (WAYNE MAZADZA + MC ASHLEY STORRIE) THE STAND EDINBURGH, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5 STUDENTS/£1 MEMBERS)

Chilled comedy showcase to cure your Sunday evening back-towork blues.

STU & GARRY’S FREE IMPROV SHOW

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 13:30–15:30, FREE

Long-running improvised comedy show with resident duo Stu & Garry weaving comedy magic from offthe-cuff audience suggestions.

THE FRIDAY SHOW (SUSIE MCCABE + RORY O’HANLON + MC BILLY KIRKWOOD)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY: 5TH BIRTHDAY WEEKEND SPECIAL (JAY LAFFERTY + GARETH WAUGH + KATHERINE FERNS + BEN VERTH + JOHN MILLAR + MC RICK MOLLAND)

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £10

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner, this edition celebrating its 5th birthday across Friday and Saturday evening.

Sat 23 Jan

THE SATURDAY SHOW (SUSIE MCCABE + RORY O’HANLON + MC BILLY KIRKWOOD)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY: 5TH BIRTHDAY WEEKEND SPECIAL (JAY LAFFERTY + GARETH WAUGH + KATHERINE FERNS + BEN VERTH + JOHN MILLAR + MC RICK MOLLAND)

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £10

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner, this edition celebrating its 5th birthday across Friday and Saturday evening.

Sun 24 Jan

BURNS NIGHT SPECIAL (JIM SMITH)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£10 WITH SUPPER)

The Stand celebrate Rabbie Burns’ birthday with a line-up of strictly homegrown talent.

STU & GARRY’S FREE IMPROV SHOW

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 13:30–15:30, FREE

Long-running improvised comedy show with resident duo Stu & Garry weaving comedy magic from offthe-cuff audience suggestions.

Mon 25 Jan RED RAW

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 20:30–22:30, £2

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY SATURDAY SHOW

Mon 18 Jan

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £10

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 20:30–22:30, £2

Tue 26 Jan

RED RAW

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. See Facebook on the day for line-ups.

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Sun 10 Jan

SUMMERHALL, 19:30–21:30, £3

THE SUNDAY NIGHT LAUGH-IN (ELEANOR MORTON + GARY FAULDS) THE STAND EDINBURGH, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5 STUDENTS/£1 MEMBERS)

Chilled comedy showcase to cure your Sunday evening back-towork blues.

STU & GARRY’S FREE IMPROV SHOW

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 13:30–15:30, FREE

Long-running improvised comedy show with resident duo Stu & Garry weaving comedy magic from offthe-cuff audience suggestions.

Mon 11 Jan RED RAW

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 20:30–22:30, £2

Open-mic style beginners showcase, plus some old hands dropping by to roadtest new material.

Tue 12 Jan GRASSROOTS

THE PLEASANCE, 19:30–23:00, £1

Showcase night featuring the best in fresh, local talent – bringing together first-time and upand-coming comics in a series of quickfire 10-minute slots.

RE-ACT REFUGEE ACTION SCOTLAND BENEFIT (KEIR MCALLISTER + JAY LAFFERTY + ROBIN GRAINGER + MC LIAM WITHNAIL)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 20:30–22:30, £8

Comedy fundraiser in aid of Re-Act Refugee Action Scotland, with Liam Withnail on hosting duties.

Tue 19 Jan WORK IN PROGRESS

Comics from the Work in Progress crew (made up of Daniel Sloss, Kai Humphries and special guests) try out a selection of all-new material.

Be gentle on ‘em.

GRASSROOTS

THE PLEASANCE, 19:30–23:00, £1

Showcase night featuring the best in fresh, local talent – bringing together first-time and upand-coming comics in a series of quickfire 10-minute slots.

BRIDGIT WATER FOUNDATION BENEFIT

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 20:30–22:30, £7 (£5)

Comedy fundraiser in aid of BridgIT Water Foundation, with Raymond Mearns on hosting duties.

Wed 20 Jan

SO... THAT WAS JANUARY?

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 20:30–22:30, £7 (£5)

Messrs McTavish, Nelson and McAllister return with another show in their pre/post-election series – offering leftfield stand-up, chat and comment on the political state of the world.

Thu 21 Jan

THE THURSDAY SHOW (SUSIE MCCABE + RORY O’HANLON + MC BILLY KIRKWOOD)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

BRIGHT CLUB

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 20:30–22:30, £5

A selection of comedic academics do a stint of stand-up for your entertainment and enlightenment.

Laughs and learning in one neat package = tick.

GRASSROOTS

THE PLEASANCE, 19:30–23:00, £1

Showcase night featuring the best in fresh, local talent – bringing together first-time and upand-coming comics in a series of quickfire 10-minute slots.

Wed 27 Jan

BEST OF SCOTTISH COMEDY (DAVID KAY + DARREN CONNELL)

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 20:30–22:30, £6 (£5/£3)

A selection of top comics from the contemporary Scottish circuit do their thing.

Thu 28 Jan

THE THURSDAY SHOW (MICK FERRY + DEIRDRE O’KANE + KEIRON NICHOLSON + JAY HANDLEY + MC RAYMOND MEARNS) THE STAND EDINBURGH, 21:00–23:00, £10 (£7 STUDENTS/£5 MEMBERS)

Weekend-welcoming selection of handpicked headline acts and newcomers over a two-hour showcase.

PLANET CARAMEL’S HOT BED

OPIUM, 20:30–22:30, £2 ADV. (£3 DOOR)

Monthly night of sketches and characters bringing a bit of the Fringe back to Edinburgh all year round, with special guests handpicked from the team’s Fringe favourites.

Fri 29 Jan

THE FRIDAY SHOW (MICK FERRY + DEIRDRE O’KANE + KEIRON NICHOLSON + JAY HANDLEY + MC RAYMOND MEARNS) THE STAND EDINBURGH, 21:00–23:00, £12 (£10 STUDENT/£6 MEMBERS)

Prime stand-up from the Scottish and international circuit, hosted by a rotating selection of Stand stalwarts.

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY FRIDAY SHOW

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £10

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. See Facebook on the day for line-ups.

Sat 30 Jan

THE SATURDAY SHOW (MICK FERRY + DEIRDRE O’KANE + KEIRON NICHOLSON + JAY HANDLEY + MC RAYMOND MEARNS) THE STAND EDINBURGH, 21:00–23:00, £15

Packed Saturday evening bill of stand-up headliners and resident comperes to jolly along your weekend.

MONKEY BARREL COMEDY SATURDAY SHOW

BEEHIVE INN, 20:30–22:30, £10

Regular weekend comedy showcase featuring a selection of up-and-coming acts from Scotland and beyond, topped with a guest headliner. See Facebook on the day for line-ups.

Sun 31 Jan

STU & GARRY’S FREE IMPROV SHOW

THE STAND EDINBURGH, 13:30–15:30, FREE

Long-running improvised comedy show with resident duo Stu & Garry weaving comedy magic from offthe-cuff audience suggestions.

REEVES AND MORTIMER: THE POIGNANT MOMENTS

THE EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE, 19:30–22:00, FROM £30.75

The veteran comedian duo head out on their first tour in 20 years in celebration of a quarter of a century of working together. Just to make you feel old.

Art

Glasgow Print Studio PHILIP REEVES

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 4 DEC AND 31 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Solo showcase of work from the London-graduating abstract printmaker, known for his confident experimentation with the process of intaglio printmaking and his use of found objects to use as the printing plate.

Glasgow School of Art RACHEL LOWTHER

16 JAN – 20 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Following being commissioned to spend time researching The Glasgow School of Art Archives and Collections’ World War I holdings in 2015, Rachel Lowther unveils a new body of work, including sculpture and films.

Glasgow Sculpture Studios

THE TRANSPARENT TORTOISESHELL AND THE UN-RIPE UMBRELLA

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 23 JAN AND 25 MAR, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Group exhibition exploring how artists uses every-day objects to create abstract pictorial assemlages, including work by Eva Berendes, Stephanie Mann, Rallou Panagiotou, Vanessa Safavi and Samara Scott. Also a contender for best exhibition title ever.

GoMA

THE BALLET OF THE PALETTE

20 FEB – 24 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Showcase exhibition of 20th century paintings selected from Glasgow Museums’ collection, chosen by a selection of contemporary artists who exhibited work in the 2013 exhibition, A Picture Show.

RIPPLES ON THE POND

27 MAR – 28 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Dundee Comedy Fri 29 Jan JUST LAUGH

DUNDEE REP, 20:00–22:00, £12

Monthly comedy showcase bringing a selection of UK stand-ups to Dundee.

Glasgow CCA: Centre for Contemporary Art GILES BAILEY + JEREMIAH DAY

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 13 NOV AND 10 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Double-header exhibition presenting the work of two artists for whom language is a fundamental preoccupation: UK artist Giles Bailey and US artist Jeremiah Day. YAKA COLLECTIVE: WHITE MOUNTAIN

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 11 DEC AND 6 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Collaborative installation from YAKA Collective, questioning real and imagined states with a series of works that aim to embody a sense of ‘otherness’.

CHRISTOPHER MACINNES: RETINA GOTHIC

22 JAN – 5 FEB, NOT 25 JAN, 1 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

The New York-born, Sheffieldraised experimental artist explores the idea of liminal space beyond the corporate web, an attempt to negotiate potentially autonomous negative space within the internet.

Glasgow Museums’ collection exhibition designed as a conversation between works by women on paper and moving image, taking as its starting point recent acquisitions from the Glasgow Women’s Library 21 Revolutions series.

DEVILS IN THE MAKING

18 SEP – 28 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Group exhibition exploring Glasgow Museums’ contemporary art collection through connections with Glasgow School of Art, including work by Christine Borland, Jim Lambie, Victoria Morton and Simon Starling.

Hunterian Art Gallery TRAVELLERS’ TAILS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 1 OCT AND 25 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Themed exhibition on exploration, art and science, inspired by the National Maritime Museum’s acquisition of the Kangaroo and Dingo

by English painter George Stubbs, with the on-loan Kangaroo forming the exhibition’s centrepiece.

Mary Mary

ALEXIS TEPLIN: DRAG, PUSH, HOOT

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 21 NOV AND 23 JAN, 12:00PM – 6:00PM, FREE

New body of work from the California-born, London-living artist, whose practice is routed in abstract painting that extends to include sculpture and performance.

People’s Palace ART OF BILLY CONNOLLEY

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 28 AUG AND 21 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Exhibition of comic Billy Connolly’s artworks, shown together with a range of objects from Glasgow Museums’ collection – including those famous banana boots and his guitar made from a White Horse whisky box.

MERLIN JAMES: LONG GAME

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 23 JAN AND 13 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Selection of new works from painter and art critic Merlin James, presented alongside a selection of other works from across his career.

Listings

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RGI Kelly Gallery City Art Centre RGI’S WINTER EXHIBITION

THE ARTIST AND THE SEA

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 28 NOV AND 30 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

26 SEP – 8 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

RGI hosts its once-a-year saleable showcase of small artworks from a selection of Scottish artists, taking in postcard-sized artworks by past artists and members, alongside a selection of small sculptures, jewellery, books, textiles and artist prints.

Six Foot Gallery SIX FOOT GALLERY’S WINTER EXHIBITION

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 3 DEC AND 14 JAN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Annual winter showcase, this time featuring artwork by Michael Kay, Nadja Andersson, Jennifer Fergie, Vivienne Edgar, Suzy Bulloch, Douglas Timmins, Abagial Latham, Neil Barr, Silvia Righetti, Gordon Stead and Lesley Finlayson.

Street Level Photoworks

NVA, JAMES JOHNSON + ALAN MCATEER: ISLAND DRIFT

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 14 NOV AND 24 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Immersive photographic installation produced in partnership with Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, following an 8-month residency at Loch Lomond producing a series of fine art landscape photographs.

The Hidden Lane Gallery MARGARET WATKINS’ LONDON

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 11 DEC AND 20 FEB, 11:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Hidden Lane Gallery play host to the first ever showing of Canadian photographer Margaret Watkins’ photographs of London in the 1930s.

The Lighthouse KATHY HINDE: SUBMERGE

29 OCT – 10 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Exhibition exploring Glasgow’s now forgotten streams using Kathy Hinde’s interactive sound map, combining intriguing underwater sounds with scientific data. Part of Sonica festival.

ADAM PIGGOT: BORROWED LIGHT

20 NOV – 5 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Solo showcase of work by Adam Piggot, director of the Glasgowbased creative micro-agency Red Empire, featuring patterns created by light from remote sources.

KATE COLIN: COLOUR AND LIGHT II

27 NOV – 5 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Selection of work from Glasgowbased designer and maker Kate Colin, featuring a lighting installation which illustrates how colour and geometric form respond to the presence of light.

HELLO MY NAME IS PAUL SMITH

21 JAN – 20 MAR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Popular touring exhibition offering an insight into designer Paul Smith’s creative process past and present via a replica of his office, a recreation of his design studio, archive garments and shop designs.

Tramway

TURNER PRIZE 2015

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 1 OCT AND 17 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

The prestigious visual art award comes Scotland for the first time, with a programme of workshops, talks, tours and activities accompanying the exhibition showcase.

Edinburgh Art

Themed exhibition by a range of different artists capturing the character of the sea, taking in painting, drawing, printmaking, photography and sculpture, and including works by John Bellany, William McTaggart, Joan Eardley and Elizabeth Ogilvie.

WILLIAM GEAR

24 OCT – 14 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Retrospective exhibition of the British abstract painter, tracing his influence through his association with CoBrA in the 1940s, right through to his later work and death in 1997.

JAGGED GENERATION: WILLIAM GEAR’S CONTEMPORARIES

24 OCT – 7 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Selection of artworks from the City Art Centre’s collection, chosen to complement the exhibition retrospective of William Gear, which runs alongside.

Collective Gallery

HARDEEP PANDHAL: HOBSONJOBSON

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 14 NOV AND 17 JAN, 10:00AM – 4:00PM, FREE

Solo showcase of new work from the British artist of Indian origin, currently living and working in Glasgow, encompassing new drawings and videos telling conflicted stories around the artist’s own identity.

Dovecot Studios W. GORDON SMITH AWARD

12–30 JAN, NOT SUNDAYS, 10:30AM – 5:30PM, FREE

Showcase of successful entries to the W. Gordon Smith Award competition celebrating the life of the distinguished art critic, author, dramatist and filmmaker, with prize money totalling £15,000.

Ingleby Gallery RESISTANCE AND PERSISTENCE

28 NOV – 30 JAN, NOT SUNDAYS, 10:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Mixed exhibition that considers the idea of artistic positions that have been hard won, including a group of paintings by mid-20th century Italian painter Giorgio Morandi.

National Museum of Scotland THE SILVERSMITH’S ART

18 SEP – 4 JAN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Celebration of the artistry and skill of British modern silversmiths, presenting work from the Contemporary Silver Collection of the Goldsmiths’ Company, London, dating from the millennium to present day.

Royal Scottish Academy RSA RSA OPEN 2015

28 NOV – 14 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Exhibition of small works sourced by open submission from artists across Scotland, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, prints and photographs – all available to buy – from around 400 different artists. Expect the usual pick’n’mix wonderland.

Scottish National Gallery TURNER IN JANUARY

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 1 JAN AND 31 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Annual January showcase of watercolour works by JMW Turner, from his early topographical wash drawings to his sketches of continental Europe from the 1830s and 40s.

ROCKS AND RIVERS: THE LUNDE COLLECTION

3–30 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Bargain Spot Project

OBJECTS FROM THE TEMPERATE PALM HOUSE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 16 JAN AND 27 FEB, 12:00PM – 6:00PM, FREE

Group exhibition presenting new, existing and commissioned work by eleven object-orientated or sculptural artists from Scotland, the UK and Europe, presented alongside artefacts from the archive of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

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Listings

Long-term loan from one of the finest private collections of 19thCentury Norwegian and Swiss landscape paintings, American collector Asbjörn Lunde, taking in 13 works by artists including Johan Christian Dahl, Alexandre Calame and Thomas Fearnley.

ARTHUR MELVILLE

10 OCT – 17 JAN, TIMES VARY, £9 (£7)

First exhibition in over 35 years devoted to the art of innovative Scottish painter Arthur Melville, a close associate of the Glasgow Boys.

D.Y. CAMERON: THE SPIRIT OF LINE 24 OCT – 21 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Selection of prints and watercolours from the Scottish National Gallery’s extensive collection of Sir David Young Cameron’s work, marking the 150th anniversary of his birth.

CONVERGE 2016

29 JAN – 20 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Three invited artists – Steven McIver, Andrew Mackenzie and Sam Johnson – display work with delineation through architectural study and structural design at its heart, alongside open submissions, a Graduate Showcase and the Cordis Trust Award shortlist.

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art ROY LICHTENSTEIN

14 MAR – 10 JAN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

A special three-room ‘Artist Rooms’ display dedicated to works by celebrated American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, bringing together a newly assembled group of works care of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Estate of Roy Lichtenstein.

REFLECTIONS

14 MAR – 10 JAN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Changing series of displays showcasing the work of a diverse range of internationally-renowned contemporary artists, including newly commissioned work by contemporary artists Michael Fullerton and Julie Favreau.

MODERN SCOTTISH WOMEN: PAINTERS AND SCULPTORS 1885-1965

7 NOV – 26 JUN, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, £9 (£7)

Showcase exhibition of work by Scottish women artists, concentrating on painters and sculptors, covering the period from 1885 to 1965.

Scottish National Portrait Gallery HEAD TO HEAD: PORTRAIT SCULPTURE – ANCIENT TO MODERN

6 JUN – 31 JAN, TIMES VARY, FREE

Exhibition of portrait sculpture from across the National Galleries of Scotland’s collection, moving from ancient to modern and executed in a range of media, illustrating how sculptors continue to reference the illustrious tradition of the portrait bust.

The Queen’s Gallery

SCOTTISH ARTISTS 1750-1900: FROM CALEDONIA TO THE CONTINENT

6 AUG – 7 FEB, 9:30AM – 6:00PM, £6.60 (£6 STUDENT/£3 UNDER 17S)

First ever exhibition devoted to Scottish art in the Royal Collection, bringing together paintings, drawings and miniatures collected by monarchs from George III to Queen Victoria.

Dundee Art DCA: Dundee Contemporary Arts

IC-98: DRAWN INTO TOMORROW

28 NOV – 14 FEB, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Showcase of work by the artist duo IC-98 in their largest UK show to date, fresh from representing Finland at the 2015 Venice Biennale.

Hannah Maclure Centre AH-BIN SHIM: 2

9 NOV – 12 FEB, WEEKDAYS ONLY, 10:00AM – 5:00PM, FREE

Solo exhibition by Korean visual artist Ah-Bin Shim as part of NEoN Digital Arts Festival – whose work explores conflict, both conceptually and in its materiality.

University of Dundee MAT FLEMING

30 OCT – 9 JAN, NOT SUNDAYS, TIMES VARY, FREE

Solo showcase presenting the works developed by artist Matt Fleming during his 10-month residency at LifeSpace. In the LifeSpace Gallery.

Theatre Glasgow Platform

HOW YOU GONNA LIVE YOUR DASH

28–29 JAN, 7:00PM – 8:10PM, £8.50 (£4.50/£3.50)

Edinburgh-based live artist and director Jenna Watt presents her new work, powerfully exploring the life-altering decisions we make in order to get the most out of our time on earth, based on real life testimonies.

The Glad Cafe GALOSHINS

24 JAN, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £12

Singer and composer Alasdair Roberts teams up with Shane Connolly for a special performance of folk play Galoshins, once performed by groups of Scottish children around Halloween or Hogmanay. Part of Celtic Connections.

The King’s Theatre CIRQUE BERSERK

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 22-24 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £13

The theatre circus show hits the road for 2016, with performers including the ‘Globe of Terror’ motorcycle stunt, over 30 jugglers and, o’course, Tweedy the clown.

SNOW WHITE

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 4 DEC AND 10 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £10

Pantomime classic about a fair maiden and her band of dwarfs... you know the rest. Matinee performances also available.

Theatre Royal

SCOTTISH BALLET: CINDERELLA

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 5 DEC AND 16 JAN, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, PRICES VARY

Scottish Ballet perform their majestic take on the classic fairytale, telling the story of Cinders, her ugly step sisters, wicked stepmother and a run in with a dashing prince. Matinee performances also available.

SCOTTISH OPERA: THE DEVIL INSIDE

23–30 JAN, NOT 24, 25, 27, 28, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Novelist Louise Welsh and composer Stuart MacRae’s combine creative forces with a tale of greed and compulsion inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s short story The Bottle Imp.

Tron Theatre DRIFT

20 JAN, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £14

Cross-artform production originally staged in 2015 on several Scottish beaches, now adapted for an indoor performance, telling the tale of Shetland crofter Betty Mouat, who in 1886 spent eight days adrift on the North Sea. Part of Celtic Connections.

Edinburgh Theatre Festival Theatre BALLETLORENT’S SNOW WHITE

22–23 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £20.75

balletLORENT’s dark and mystical adaptation of Snow White, created from an original retelling by Carol Ann Duffy, reimagining the story of a mother’s poisonous jealousy in dance theatre format.

King’s Theatre Edinburgh SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 28 NOV AND 17 JAN, TIMES VARY, FROM £14

Your annual opportunity to boo Grant Stott, who returns in the King’s festive panto as the Wicked Queen.

Matinee performances also available.

SCOTTISH OPERA: THE DEVIL INSIDE

23–30 JAN, NOT 24, 25, 27, 28, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Novelist Louise Welsh and composer Stuart MacRae’s combine creative forces with a tale of greed and compulsion inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s short story The Bottle Imp.

Royal Lyceum Theatre THE WEIR

15 JAN – 6 FEB, NOT 24 JAN, 25 JAN, 31 JAN, 1 FEB, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £13

Conor McPherson’s moving, elegiac tale of a young woman arriving in Dublin with a haunting tale to share.

Matinee performances also available.

The Edinburgh Playhouse THE SOUND OF MUSIC

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 14 DEC AND 9 JAN, TIMES VARY, PRICES VARY

Classic retelling of the von Trapp family tale, in full singalong glory.

Matinee performances also available.

VAMPIRES ROCK

17 JAN, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £26.75

Steve Steinman plays the undead Baron Von Rockula, owner of the Live and Let Die nightclub, as he searches for a bride and generally growls his way through some classic rock anthems.

THE GLENN MILLER STORY

VARIOUS DATES BETWEEN 26–30 JAN, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, FROM £12

Traverse Theatre KEEP THE CROSS HIGH

1 FEB, 6:05PM – 6:45PM, FREE

Excerpt from a new play written

by Francesca Caprioli, one of only three female theatre directors to graduate from the prestigious Accademia Silvio D’Amico, performed

by Laura Wooff. Part of Manipulate.

CLOSE UP

1 FEB, 7:30PM – 8:30PM, £16.50 (£13.50/£8.50)

UK premiere of the final part of Editta Braun’s acclaimed trilogy.

Part of Manipulate.

GOLDEN ARM THEATRE PROJECT

22 JAN, 7:30PM – 9:30PM, £8.50

Eclectic mixing of live music and theatre, featuring new short works by some of Scotland’s leading playwrights – including Clare Duffy and Isabel Wright – all inspired by the songs of Edinburgh indie-pop unit Golden Arm.

Dundee Theatre Dundee Rep BREAKIN’ RULES

30 JAN, 8:00PM – 10:00PM, £10 (£6)

More head-spinning airborne action from some of the UK’s best break dancing crews on the scene, performing a one-night-only show.

BROADWAY: THE BEST OF BROADWAY

27–30 JAN, 7:30PM – 10:00PM, £16 (£15)

A cast of dancers and West End singers work their way through a selection of musical classics, with Dirty Dancing, Footloose and Fame all on the slaughter list. Matinee performances also available.

Tommy Steele leads a 16-piece orchestral cast to tell the story of Glenn Miller, who vanished over the English Channel as he flew to Paris to entertain the troops during the Second World War. Matinee performances also available.

DOCUMENT SCOTLAND: THE TIES THAT BIND

26 SEP – 24 APR, TIMES VARY, FREE

Photographic collective comprising of Colin McPherson, Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert, Sophie Gerrard and Stephen McLaren – four Scotsborn photographers, each exponents of documentary photography – featuring 50-75 photographs of, and about, Scotland.

BP PORTRAIT AWARD 2015

10 OCT – 28 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Annual showcase of the best in contemporary portrait painting from around the world, now in its 34th year and marking the sixth time the Scottish National Portrait Gallery has hosted the exhibition.

THE UNTITLED

30 JAN – 8 MAY, TIMES VARY, FREE

Throughout 2015, the National Galleries’ Outreach Team invited ‘the next generation’ to make the kind of art they would want to see, inspired by the work of contemporary artists – here young people from Alloa, Irvine and Edinburgh showcase the fruits.

Stills

JILL TODD PHOTOGRAPHIC AWARD 2015 7 NOV – 17 JAN, 11:00AM – 6:00PM, FREE

Annual photography award showcase, featuring the work of this year’s winning entrants Matt Hay, Alan Knox and Mhairi Law, plus works by a selection of commended entrants.

The Fruitmarket Gallery ANOTHER MINIMALISM

14 NOV – 21 FEB, TIMES VARY, FREE

Group show bringing together a select group of current artists with that of two pioneers of West Coast American minimalism (Robert Irwin and Larry Bell), examining the impact of California Light and Space art on artists working today.

THE SKINNY

The Last Word: Henry Rollins The punk iconoclast talks moving past being in a band, his first lead acting role and his love of radio ahead of his first UK spoken word shows in four years Interview: Joe Goggins

H

enry Rollins isn’t quite 55 yet, even if he claims as such during the course of this interview.

It’s revealing that he thinks in such terms; he always looks forward, and seldom back. His drive, determination and relentless work ethic is awe-inspiring, and the scope of his current work is so broad that it’s difficult to know where to start a conversation with the man, to a daunting degree.

The one thing he isn’t, any more, is a musician.

Rollins remains best known as the frontman of Black Flag during their incendiary 80s peak and then as leader of his own Rollins Band, but he disbanded the latter in 2003 and – save for a brief reunion in 2006 – has focused on other endeavours since. He remains a furiously engaging public speaker, and will bring his first spoken word shows since 2012 – a long while, in Rollins’ world – to the UK this January on his Charmingly Obstinate tour, which will see a whole new raft of targets on the receiving end of his legendary ire. He continues to work on radio shows and podcasts, the former for KCRW in Santa Monica and the latter with Heidi May, his long-time assistant, with whom he swaps stories from their two decades together.

There are few countries that Rollins, an avid traveller, hasn’t visited. He’s just returned from Antarctica as he speaks to us, reporting on the environmental situation there in his LA Weekly column; he has presented a slew of different series on National Geographic and History Channel, too.

He’s in the thick of promoting his first lead film role, in the upcoming comedy horror He Never Died; he’s been acting for years, with a notable appearance in Sons of Anarchy’s second season. Gutterdämmerung, a conceptual rock and roll film that he helped write, is shortly to be released after five years in the making. We could go on, but Rollins’ story is best coming from the horse’s mouth; he is a gripping conversationalist and doesn’t want for an opinion on anything.

On what keeps drawing him back to spoken word...

The information is different every time; it’s a story that keeps unravelling. It’s not like I have to go up and do the first two tracks from the first album just so that people feel like they’ve had their money’s worth. It allows me to keep things interesting, rather than just step into the way-back machine.

That’s why it’s compelling to me, it can kind of go at the speed of my own life.

On preparing for a tour...

I don’t use a lot of spontaneity on stage, in that I don’t want to work it out on your time. The main thing, when I’m back home, is walking around the streets. I live in Los Angeles, and long stretches of the San Fernando Valley, by 7pm, are like a ghost town – just joggers and dog walkers. I’ll go out and say these stories out loud and physically walk through them, and listen to my voice, say the words and go, ‘OK, you’re not getting to the point.’

I’ll go back home and keep talking through them, just working through these stories and ideas – it’s like band practice, but on my own. The idea is to basically try to find the weak points and kind of go after my own material with gentle contempt, in an effort to make it better, so by the time I

January 2016

make it to the stage, the material is pretty wellvetted, and the better, stronger ideas are the ones that make it.

On the resurgence of curated radio shows...

I do an analogue radio show in the digital world.

I’ve been doing them between two different stations for eleven years now, and it’s a lot of work, especially with a tour schedule. I’m usually working on shows at least a month in advance, just to keep them in the pipeline, and it probably takes between three to five hours to make a two hour show.

I don’t just throw songs together; I need them to make some sense together texturally. It’s fun to create a situation where someone tunes in for two hours, and you’re communing with people who like the same kind of music. That’s why I listen to the radio, because I want the person presenting to take me somewhere, when they’re really invested in the material. The kind of radio that’s curated like that – not the corporate thing where you have to play the new Beyoncé single – that’s really cool, seeing people geek out together like that for two hours at a time.

“ I only went on stage to smash it to pieces” Henry Rollins

On auditioning for new roles...

I like the competition. I like that you have to go and fight for your work. It satiates my anger, because I work out of vengeance. I like kicking ass.

It’s the only reason I ever did music; I’m not an artist, I’m not a musician, I’ve never personally had a truly musical moment in my life. I only went on stage to smash it to pieces, and that’s why I like auditions. I enjoy getting in line with a bunch of other assholes, where we all have to go up like some schmuck and sign in and you’ll see that we’re all reading for the same character, like ‘Wesley the sniper’ or whatever.

There’s something about understanding that there’s these guys there with you who are all ten years younger, with perfect gym bodies and magnificent hair, and you’re standing there like some grey-haired jerk-off, and you go in and fight for it and sometimes you get it and sometimes you don’t.

I quite like driving into Warner Brothers, because I have no illusions that I should be in any of these places. I’m a guy from the minimum wage working world. I’m not an actor – I’m a punk rock insurgent. Whenever I get any of these parts, I’m like, ‘Hey – if you say so!’ And whenever I don’t, trust me – I don’t wonder why.

On why the same motivation no longer applies to music...

For me, music was a time and a place. I never really enjoyed being in a band. It was in me and it needed to come out, like a 25-year exorcism. One day,

I woke up, and I didn’t have any more lyrics. I just had nothing to contribute to the form, and I was done with band practice and travelling in groups.

I didn’t stop doing it out of any discontent – it’s like when you finish eating a good meal and go, ‘Alright, I’m done.’ I’m not eating any more, because I’m done. That was one of the clearest moments of my life, like, ‘Wow – I’m done with music.’ I called my manager at the time and said, ‘Hey, man, are you ready for this?’ And his knees must have buckled when I told him! Because, you know, that was his paycheck. He wanted me to take a year to do other things and then see if I wanted to try it again.

That was 12 years ago. I’ve never really thought about it since.

On spoken word providing a better vehicle for his ideas than songwriting...

That’s exactly what it is. If it’s just me up on stage, I can turn a topic around on a dime, and I don’t have to worry about what the drummer thinks.

There’s a uniformity to music, in a way; we’d go out with the set, and with a bunch of songs to rotate in and out, different encores or whatever to keep everything sharp, but after six months of that, you

Music

kind of hit a wall. I got to a certain point in my life where I thought, ‘Do I really want to spend another year doing this same thing with these same people?’ Because nothing was changing. You get on a bus and you work with these people who are all very nice, and the music’s cool, but you get back home at the end of it and say, ‘OK, I haven’t thought any new thoughts, really, and I haven’t been anywhere – just a bunch of parking lots, backstages and stages for nine months.’ At some point, it lost its element of risk. It was no longer challenging. It was like going out and connecting the same dots every night, and I need there to be confrontation and challenge involved.

On the future for Henry Rollins...

As it is right now, I’ve got work until December next year – flat out – and then I have no idea what 2017 is going to hold. That’s fine by me; I work best in that situation, where I’m being put to it. Not panicking, exactly, but also knowing, ‘OK, I’ve got to get this right.’ That’s when I’m at my best.

Henry Rollins plays Glasgow’s O2 Academy on 18 Jan henryrollins.com

The Last Word

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