Out and About

There's a fair few things going on in Glasgow this week, most of which I can't make, but seeing as there's so much happening I though it'd be a good idea to post them in one handy post.

There's not much on this Monday, unless you fancy hanging out with all the neds at Stereo for the View. Actually how the fuck did the View end playing in Stereo, that just seems wrong to me. Yes, I know it's snobby as fuck, but it's just wrong, wrong, wrong.

Thankfully things pick up on Tuesday night at Sleazys, where you have dd/mm/yyyy, backed by an array of local talent which includes Galleries, Mice and the Macabre Scene (we like em a lot round these parts).

On Wednesday night The Lost Generation and Healthy Minds Collapse at Tuts. Whilst one man troubadour Shambles Miller struts his stuffdown at Pivo Pivo.

On Thursday, indie label and artist collective Antimatter debut their first Musicbox night at Universal. 'The concept of Musicbox is simple. Musically, each line up features four of the best new up and coming artists around. We operate an open mixed genre policy. Acoustic artists play side by side with electronic, folk musicians next to experimental. Each artist has been specifically chosen to compliment the rest.'
Sounds like a good idea to me, the line looks like this The Recovery Club, Engine7, Paul McLinden and Lamplighter. Out of all of them I have only heard Engine7, who's album 'Me, But Perfect' rather impressed me last year. Tickets are only £3, the evening kicks off at 8pm, further details are available on the Anitmatter website.

Friday, you have one of two options The Unwinding Hours at Stereo (reminds self that I need to get me finger oot and get a ticket for this - anyone fancy it?) or alternatively there is always the Local Natives at Tuts, which I'd be surprised if it wasn't sold out already. Can't be arsed checking.

Saturday night at the 13th Note should be a good un, Flowers in the Dustbin have a showcase of local talent lined up, including The Fire And I, The 123’s, Hitlist Youth and Foxgang. That's going to be a beast of an evening.

Finally if you want to see the week off in style then you should head down to Mono next Sunday for Burnt Island's (more on them later in the week) mini-album launch. Support on the evening comes from Aidan Moffat and Benni Hemm Hemm backed by the Second Hand Marching Band (that reminds me where's my EP?????).

The Unwinding Hours - Vic Galloway Session (22/01/2010)

Track Listing

1. Child
2. Peaceful Liquid Shell
3. Restless Heart (John Parr cover)

Download

F'All Friday Freebies.......We've Got It Covered

For all of you who weren't paying attention last week, there will be no Friday Freebies on Peenko today. I'm away on holiday (that feels quite a stupid thing to be writing as at the moment I'm sitting on the sofa enjoying a beer). Jim from Aye Tunes has very kindly offered to do the honours for this week, so head on over to his blog where he will be doing the honours for this week.
In case things go tits up and there's f'all freebies this week, I've made you all a wee playlist of Scottish bands doing cover versions. Enjoy.....

Track Listing
1. Withered Hand - Into the Fold (Eagleowl cover)
2. Dananananaykroyd - Whip It (Devo cover)
3. Belle & Sebastian - Here Comes the Sun (Beatles cover)
4. The Boy Who Trapped the Sun - Girl From The North Country (Bob Dylan cover)
5. Camera Obscura-Modern Girl (Sheena Easton cover)
6. Eagleowl - I Am Nothing (Withered Hand cover)
7. Frightened Rabbit - Song Against Sex (Neutral Milk Hotel cover)
8. King Creosote - Pale Shelter (Tears For Fears cover)
9. Meursault - Westward, Home (Moondog cover)
10. The Pictish Trail-It's Not Too Beautiful (Beta Band cover)
11. St. Deluxe - Big River (Johnny Cash cover)
12. The Twilight Sad - Suck (the Wedding Present cover)
13. We Were Promised Jetpacks - Blindsided (Bon Iver cover)
14. My Latest Novel - Two Headed Boy (Neutral Milk Hotel cover)

Download

Arab Strap - Live on KEXP (22/11/03)

Track Listing
1. Fuck a Doodle Don't
2. Here We Go
3. The Shy Retirer
4. To All A Good Night

Download
Stream

Scots Way-Hay! #4 - we're only afraid of NYC

There's something in a name, if you get that right then you can come up with something eye catching that sticks in a persons head then you're already half way there. Plenty of bands come up with catchy names, very few have the tunes to back them up, we're only afraid of NYC are one of these bands.
If I'm honest I thought their first EP was okay, it didn't particularly stand out from the crowd. So to say that I was surprised about how good their Second EP was, would be the mother of all understatements. To put it simply, it's stunning, I literally had one of those jaw dropping moments were I had to take a step back and appreciate quite how good the music I was listening to was. It boasts a blend of pop, post-rock with a touch of Radiohead too boot. Oh and I nearly forgot to mention that they've taken the bold step of giving it away as a free download on their Bandcamp page. So even if you don't agree with me (you'd be a fool not to), then you won't have wasted a single penny. I really have high hopes for these guys, I expect big things from them over the next few years. If you don't trust me, then trust the lovely Lauren Laverne, who's been playing them on her BBC 6Music show. Not bad for an unsigned band from Glasgow......

Would you care to introduce yourself?

Hi we are we're only afraid of NYC, a three piece band from Glasgow/Stockholm

Where did the name ‘we’re only afraid of NYC’ come from?

It came from a crossword in the paper, just stuck in our heads. We never solved the clue either, which says it all really. (6,4) second letter is a T

How would you describe the music you make?

right now it would be post rock with a hook, loud quiet louder....something like that I suppose. Ask us next week and who knows though, just whatever is sparking our interest at that moment.

How did you start out making music?

same as everyone really, just for something to do. We really started doing this just to please ourselves. We make what we want to hear and then find out if it connects with anybody else afterwards. You can't chase after what's hot, just enjoy and believe in what you are doing. If anything comes of it then that’s a bonus but at least you are doing what you like and you own it.

What process goes into the way you write songs?

our songs start with little ideas about a mood or subject which turn into demos which then fly around between us. then it grows into a ten minute epic whilst we are pushing it in every direction possible. after that we mercilessly edit it down to get the flow right and find the bits that have to be there and everything else is cut. Sometimes a song will just fall out of the sky the week before we record like "run with heart" from the new EP but usually it is the other way around.

Who are your big musical influences?

Right now we are loving Deerhoof, Yo La Tengo, Grinderman, Refused and a lot of stuff like Dion and the Belmonts, the Inkspots. Lots of stuff from the 50's. The clarity of melody/harmony and the way it frees up the music to go wherever it wants in a lot of the 50's harmony groups is really interesting us right now. Also loving the new Tom Waits Glitter and Doom record. We couldn't pay that amount of money to see him without crying a little inside forever. so the record is a barely suitable compromise.

So far you have given all of your recordings away for free, why have you chosen to go down this route?

It just doesn't seem right to us to put a barrier of 79p in the way of someone who wants to hear your music, streaming is okay but its no substitute for having it on your ipod or in the car whenever you want it. We just want to get the songs out to people, get them to share them. I doubt we'd be any worse off financially if we were charging for it, most of the money you pay to a band goes straight to the cd printer or to itunes .so why line the pockets of middlemen with your friends money? The technology is here whether we like it or not so we might as well use it to our advantage. We will deal with the future when it comes but at this stage for us it is something we are proud to do.

What can we expect to see/hear from you in 2010?

next record is written, looking at a may/june release. it will again be free to anyone who wants it. Other than that we'll just keep writing, playing good gigs and enjoying it. the rest really isn't up to us.


we're only afraid of NYC - where we go at night (MP3)



we're only afraid of NYC's new EP 'Zero Point Two' is available to download for free from their Bandcamp page. If you fancy catching the boys in the flesh, then head along to the Captains Rest in Glasgow on the 27th of this month where they're supporting Kong. Tickets are available to buy here.

Myspace

Fresh Meat Monday - Factory Kids

Would you care to introduce yourself?
Christina Marie: vocals and instruments

Tim Chaplin: vocals and instruments

How would you describe the music you make?
Tim: Scruffy psychedelic pop.

Christina: And sweet melancholy pop.

How did you start out making music?
Tim: We've both been invloved in various other bands and projects - I still do solo stuff under my own name and electronic/experimental stuff as Luminous - but we decided to try and do something together fairly soon after first meeting in 2008.

Christina: While I was in a shoegaze band in New York, we decided to create a side project. Well, now Factory Kids is my main band and Tim dedicates a lot of hours to it as well.

What process goes into the way you write songs?
Tim: We like to take different approaches each time to try and keep things fresh. Hopefully for us and anyone who fancies a listen. Sometimes one of us will write a whole song on our own. Sometimes someone might have the lyrics and then we'll add music. Other times we start with rough loops and make the song up as we go along...

Christina: Once in awhile, I'll come up with a melody on a piano and Tim adds to it. But mostly, Tim will write the music, either him or I write the lyrics, and together we come up with the finished track.


What can people expect from your live shows?
Tim: We've both played live with different bands in the past, but we're yet to go out as Factory Kids. I don't think it's something we ever really considered when we started this stuff, so it might be hard to recreate in a live setting. Having said that, we are looking at doing something either as a stripped-down duo or with a full band. In the meantime, we're hoping to try our hand at a spot of DJ'ing if anyone'll have us...

Christina: Some of our songs are so layered and complex it'd be quite complicated to play it live. Although we could play some of the songs, and are thinking of having stripped down live versions of them. But for now we're starting off with DJ'ing...

What are you all listening to at the moment?
Tim: These New Puritans, The Telescopes, Atlas Sound, Tom Waits.

Christina: Spiritualized, The Dandy Warhols, Soundpool, Sweet Jane.

What can we expect to see/hear from you in 2010?
Tim & Christina: Lots more releases - another EP on 17 Seconds Records, at least one new album, some remixed material, remixes for other bands, and ongoing appearances on compilations...


Factory Kids 'EP1' is available to buy now on 17 Seconds Records

Factory Kids - They Used To Call Me Baby (MP3)


Myspace

Antlers - WOXY Session (15/02/2010)

Track Listing

1. Bear
2. Thirteen
3. Two

Download
Stream

Mumford & Sons - Triple J Session (05/02/2010)

Track Listing

1. The Cave
2. Unfinished Business (White Lies cover)

Download

Beach House - 6Music Session (17/02/2010)

Track Listing

1. Norway
2. Used To Be

Download

Freelance Whales - 6Music Session (16/02/2010)

Track Listing

1. Generator First Floor
2. Generator Second Floor

Download

The Low Anthem - 6Music Session (11/02/2010)

Track Listing
1. Apothecary (new song)
2. To The Ghosts That Write History Books

Download

Friday Freebies

we're only afraid of NYC
This week we have not one but two Scottish bands that I have been really enjoying, first up is the wonderfully named 'we're only afraid of NYC'. They gave their debut EP away for free a couple of months ago, it was good, and now they're doing the same with their second EP. In my opinion this is better, much better in fact. It's not just me that rates them, the lovely Lauren Laverne has been playing them on her 6Music show last week. The EP is available to download now on their Bandcamp page, if you like what you hear then check back next Wednesday as they're my next 'Scots Way-Hay' victims.

The Kays Lavelle
My other (joint) favourite release this week is the new single from the Kays Lavelle, 'The Hours', which is available to download for free from Wise Blood Industries. This song just simply sounds amazing (I was going to go with lush, but then I sound realised Gavin & Stacey's not cool anymore. Right? Fuck it I liked the first series). After hearing this I really can't wait to the hear the full album which is due out on the 17th of May, get it marked in you diary kids, it promises to be something pretty special.

el hombre trajeado
El Hombre Trajeado were a Glasgow band that emerged toward the end of 1996, they were very much at the forefront of DIY music from this fair city. In total they released three LPs, and one EP, all of which are available to download for free on their homepage, which you can find here.

Glissando
Kudos goes out to Euan from the Steinberg Principle blog (he's also in The Kays Lavelle, talented bugger that he is) for this little find. It's a live recording of the London shoegaze bands 2008 show at the Union Chapel in London, which is of course up for free download on their Bandcamp.

The Pipettes
Remember them? Surprised they're still going? Yeah me too, but hey fair play to them for sticking at it. I am pretty sure that one of the girls has left the band, but then again I have done hee-haw research on the matter. If you fancy seeing what they sound like these days (not very different to be honest), then you might be interested to know that they're giving away a free download of their single 'Our Love Was Saved By Spacemen'. You should know the drill by now, give them your email address and you get the song, piece of piss.

The Silent Forest
The folky-pop Glasweigans have a few tracks up for free download, just head here
and use the password 'brewhouse' and hey presto you've got yourself some free tunes. If you like what you head and fancy catching the Silent Forest live, then you're in luck as they're playing a free gig at the Mill next thursday (26th). To get tickets all you have to do to get a ticket is either text MILL14K to 82500 or go to the Mills site and register for tickets.

Have Fun At Dinner
If you haven't come across 'Have Fun At Dinner', a relatively new blog then I'd suggest you get that rectifiied. If my my word isn't good enough for you, then you might be swayed by the compilation 'A Glass of Scotch Volume 1' that he's just posted which 'demonstrate the caliber of up and coming bands in Scotland'. It includes tracks from Meursault, Eagleowl, The Last Battle, plus many others. Cracking stuff and before I forget, it's free, but then again I guess you saw that one coming.

The Magic Numbers
The worlds happiest band are giving away new song 'Hurt So Good' which will be on their forthcoming album, it's another one of those give your email address in exchange for the song. If that sounds like a fair deal to you, head here.

Maxwell Panther
The lo-fi Mackem experimentalists new album has just come out on Song By Toad Records, if you want a listen to what he sounds like before making an investment then you can check out his album 'All Ages and Body Types' which is free on his Bandcamp page.

Shooting Stansfield
Ian from Have Fun At Dinner posted about these guys earlier in the week, mighty fine they are too. If you sign up to their mailing list they'll give you a free download of their song 'Modern Warfare'.

Lawrence Arabia
6Music have been playing his song ' Apple Pie Bed' a fair bit this week, cracking tune it is too. You can download it for free on Bella Unions website, go on treat yourself.

THERE WILL BE NO FRIDAY FREEBIES NEXT WEEK AS I AM OFF ON HOLIDAY, SORRY FOLKS. HOWEVER, JIM SAID HE'D DO ONE ON AYETUNES SO HEAD ON OVER TO HIS PLACE NEXT FRIDAY.

Ardentjohn - Vic Galloway Session (18/02/2010)

Track Listing
1. Where All Paths Lead
2. Home
3. Follow Me
4. Sleeping Soldier

Download

Community Service #3 - Glasgow Podcart

I first came across the Glasgow Podcart after Boab introduced me to Sean and Halina at a Yahweh and applesofenergy gig last year. Due to the consumption of a few cans of the finest Red Stripe, my memories of that evening are a bit blurry, I do remember being bowled over about how passionate they both were about music and what they wanted to do with the Podcart. My other memory is of rambling utter shit at Sean for quite a long time, I still cringe when I recall that moment. The following day, I was hungover in work and I had my first listen to an episode of the Podcart. Since that day it's become part of my weekly routine, although I did have to stop listening to it on public transport as I kept getting odd looks when I started pissing myself laughing. I think the most fun thing about the Podcart is listening to what gems they've unearthed this week combined with some piss funny 'banter'. It really does make for a great combination. If you want to find out why I will never be able to drink Irn Bru out of a glass bottle ever again, or the truth behind who was 'Pumped in Venice', then get listening boys and girls. Today is the Podcarts first birthday, as part of the celebrations of this milestone, they're having a wee shindig at the 13th Note tonight. The lineup for the evening boasts three of the finest unsigned Scottish acts about at the moment, Little Yellow Ukuleles, Campfires in Winter and St. Deluxe. Entry is free and it all kicks off around 8pm tonight, it should be a belter of an evening.
Now I'll pass you over to Halina, the Queen Bee of the Podcart-Crew to explain to you in her own words what the Glasgow Podcart is all about and what they have up their sleeve in 2010.....

In your own words describe what Glasgow Podcart is
This answer changes everytime! Glasgow Podcart is a media platform and networking community for musicians, artists, photographers and now writers and film makers. We produce weekly podcasts as well as specialist live sessions. The idea is to enable people to push their ideas forward in a way and create a voice for them. Ultimately, we want people to be seen and heard in a different way.

Please introduce the Podcart team
There is Sean McCann our specialist recording and filming expert and also a talented writer, Ally Burton who is a brilliant photographer and writer, Will McNeilly who is based in Belfast and our graphic designer, web designer all round talented Mr nice guy, Paddy Duke who also with Will does the weekly artwork on the website for our podcasts, Nicola Blair who is now working closely with Sean on recording and filming projects, Louise Cochrane who is a design student also from Northern Ireland. We have 2 new recruits! Iona Bruce and Sophie Stubbs both of whom have very strong arts backgrounds and will be raising the profile of our arts section quite substantially. Finally there is myself, Halina. I with Sean do a lot of the decision making and mainly content on the website.

What was it that motivated you to start doing a weekly Podcast?
I have always been a music fan but mainstream radio was infuriating me. Being subjected to artists that were created through the vision of a record company mogul as opposed to organic musicians I was listening to was very frustrating. There is of course BBC Radio 6 however, which I must point out is a God send! Everyone always says instead of moaning try and change things so that was the idea. We knew about podcasts briefly and I had noticed an increase in digital listening as well as the decline in Radio listeners. We wanted to do things a bit different though and incorporate other art platforms as well.

What would you say has been the best thing to happen since you started it?
Some would immediately presume me saying Stuart Braithwaite of Mogwai and by God that really was a highlight but ultimately I think the relationships we have made. Of course it is natural to be competitive about things sometimes but I suppose it is more the networks we have established. I see all the people we have introduced and some of whom have gone on to work closely together or spawn other projects. It's pretty special.

How difficult is it to find so many new and exciting bands each week?
I think there is a misconception that people think we love everything we listen to. This isn't the case. People have to remember how many people there are in the team and we all have very diverse taste and if someone likes something then so be it we will play it. I will let you into a little secret though if someone is somewhat quiet when the song is played it generally isn't their cup of tea! (I am going to get killed for exposing that haha). I often spend time trawling through myspace friends listening to artists and this is the way I have found most of them. Obviously there is word of mouth and blogs such as yourself and others but I get more satisfaction actually spending time just listening. Some weeks I do find that I listen to several artists in a row that I just have to switch off but generally we have been very lucky.

For you personally what artist/band has excited you most over the past 12 months?
I think in all honesty it is between And So I Watch You From Afar and Panda Su. ASIWYFA are one if not the best live act I have ever seen and their energy is unbelievable. Panda Su is one of the most intriguing young women in music I have had the pleasure of coming across. She wears her heart on her guitar and has often provided a comfort blanket for my emotions with her music. I really think great things are going to happen for her.

For all the folk out there that haven’t heard an episode of the Glasgow Podcart, why should they give you a listen?
We are honest. First and foremost. Just imagine Friday night round your friends with a few beers and you sit and listen to some music and talk about the gigs you have been to and the artists you are listening to that week. It's not scripted and yeah I am going to say it is pretty funny as well.

Lastly, what can we expect to see/hear from Glasgow Podcart this year?
Well! I don't really want to say much as we are going to keep our cards very close to our chest this year but we have some very interesting live things coming up, podcasts from a couple of festivals and a brand new website! The 2 ladies we have taken on for our art side also have some extremely exciting art's ideas that people are going to be happily surprised by. We will of course give Peenko news before these things happen as we love him (Peenko - stop it your making me blush).


Glasgow Podcart

Scots Way-Hay #3 - Spaghetti Anywhere

For a country which can be pretty miserable at times, we produce more than our fair share of happy indie-pop bands, Teenage Fan Club, Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura, BMX Bandits, The Pastels, etc. Now we can add Spaghetti Anywhere to that ever growing list. Residing in East London, the band are centred around Francis , who hails from Glasgow (hence my justification for including them under the 'Scots Way-Hay banner), and Valerio from Rome . The band formed in 2008 and are set to release their debut EP next week.
It was actually Jim who runs the Aye Tunes blog who brought them to my attention . It was one of those moments where I guess he couldn't believe how good the songs he was hearing actually were. Thankfully though the man has an ear for good music.

For the past month or so their EP has been my soundtrack after yet another shitty day in work, their songs just put a smile on my face and make the world feel that little bit more bearable. Be warned though if you don't like your music to be 'twee' then this might not be for you. If you do, then prepare yourself for some incredibly catchy music, with a twist of 80s pop thrown in to boot. In short this is nothing new, but with Francis Cullen 's soft Scottish voice and incredibly catchy tunes, Spaghetti Anywhere are one of the most achingly good bands and completely caught me off guard.

Would you care to introduce yourself?
Hello, I am Francis, one half of spaghetti anywhere, Valerio’s not here right now because I’m at uni and he’s in London.

How would you describe the music you make?
Um I always have difficulty in answering this question, usually I say something like ‘um I dunno, like folky kind of poppy indie stuff, sort of twee, like belle and Sebastian do you know who they are?’. I’d like to think our music makes people feel happy in a kind of melancholic way, I don’t really like writing depressing dark lyrics and if I do then there’s usually a happy ending.. I’m wondering if I answered the question.

How did you start out making music?
Well it began when I met Valerio, I had some songs already one I wrote with one of my friends Johnny way back when, but it was nowhere near finished, so Valerio suggested I go round to his house to record some of them. So we did ‘dangerous as pisa’, and I was amazed at how much better it became when he came up with some new guitar parts for it. I really liked going round his house in the day, I had nothing to do and we’d always drink and he’d make us spaghetti for lunch, good times. After that I wrote more and more songs, being slightly heart broken they all came out pretty easily, some of them were a bit too wishy washy though.


What process goes into the way you write songs?
Well I spend hours in my bedroom strumming a guitar until something sounds good, then I think of lyrics to go over it, sometimes they just write themselves and sometimes it takes forever, it’s a strange thing that I will probably never get my head around. After that it moves down the production line and Valerio puts some new guitar parts over it, a bass line, then we stick whatever synth, keyboard, glockenspiel parts in..,. then he sits me in a corner and records me singing, this is the most painful part.

Who are your big musical influences?
I think I have to be predictable and say Belle and Sebastian, I try and rip them off a lot but I do it really badly so nobody realizes, I also take a lot of influence from Daniel Johnston, ‘lousy weekend’ in particular. Valerio I think if he was here would say stuff like Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, and the Mr Sandman song, I’m really into that too, so it’s a nice contrast.

What are you all listening to at the moment?
At the moment, I really like Bishop Allen, we were supposed to play with him a while ago, my friend was organizing the gig, but then we didn’t in the end and I cried a bit. We did play with dent may though and he’s really good.

What can we expect to see/hear from you in 2010?
Well at the moment we are trying to sort out our live act, were looking for a band because everybody who’s played with us in the past ends up leaving, were on our third bassist, our drummer ditched us for another band and our keyboard player is off to India. I think we need to find one more guitar player too because I’m finding it difficult to stage dive with a guitar round my neck. After we do that I’m sure another EP is on the cards probably may/june time, I already have someone doing the art work for it, again with the highland cows. Oh and weve also started shooting a music video for girlfriends with boyfriends so maybe you’ll see that one day.

Can we expect to see any live shows coming up in Scotland?
I hope so!., maybe my granny will come and see us, I’m sure we will, If anyone offers of course we’d be up for coming up anytime,… Nudge nudge wink wink.


Spaghetti Anywhere- Girlfriends With Boyfriends (MP3)


If you fancy bringing a little sunshine into your life then I recommend Spaghetti Anywhere's Debut EP, which is out on the 22nd February on 10" vinyl and by digital download through Toy Soldier Records. If you like music of the twee variety, this is a must buy.

Myspace

Wooden Box With a Fistful of Fivers - Marc Riley Session (16/02/10)

Track Listing
1. Draw a Line
2. Twisted Mile
3. My Mule

Download

The Twilight Sad - We Have Signal, Live in Birmingham, Alabama

Track Listing
1. The Reflection of the Television
2. I Became a Prostitute
3. Talking With Fireworks/ Here It Never Snowed
4. Seven Years of Letters
5. That Summer At Home I Had Become the Invisible Boy

Download
Watch the Video

The Last Battle - Leith FM Session (16/02/10)

Photo by Chris Donia

Track Listing
1. Natures Glorious Rage
2. Motoshigi/Cutlass
3. Whisky

Download

Fresh Meat Monday - theredshow

Would you care to introduce yourself?
Gareth: We are The Red Show and we are nifty! Chris: And I am
Chris. I play the bass and I'm the silent assassin of the band.
Mike: I’m Mike and I be drumser man. Ug.


How would you describe the music you make?
Gareth: I guess you would call it...post-punk blues rock? is that a thing?
Chris: I'm not quite sure I've heard many other local bands around at the moment that sound similar to us, so hopefully that's a good thing. Maybe.

How did you start out making music?
Gareth: I started by humming, then worked in a little clapping, and before i knew it I was in a band.
Mike: That’s not actually that far from the truth. I filled in for someone, we then become lovers…musically only…of course, and then Chris joined when he heard just how good (pah!) we were.

What process goes into the way you write songs?
Gareth: The way I write music varies from song to song - sometimes I'll pick up the guitar and it will just explode out of me in one go, other times its a very slow process that can take alot of fiddling. I never know what I'm writing about until the song is done, its always best to keep an open mind. We try never to disregard a song cause it sounds different than other stuff.


What can people expect from your live shows?
Gareth: You can expect us to play loud and proud and to not take ourselves or anyone else too seriously.
Chris: We have fun playing and hopefully the crowd has fun listening too. If they're not, then we're not doing our job. If you're standing twiddling your thumbs at one of our shows then pull us up post-gig and we'll apologize profusively for the disappointment.
Mike: Money. Lots of free money.

What are you all listening to at the moment?
Gareth: Tegan and Sara!

Chris: I'm bit of a Spotify junkie, so it varies. Recently I've been spinning the likes of Them Crooked Vultures, Fiona Apple, Every Time I Die, Voicst and Rush. Stuff that's old and new. Pretty obssesed with local band Super Adventure Club at the moment too. They're off the scale of awesomeness.
Mike: I just bought Them Crooked Vultures and Queens of the Stone Age albums yesterday, but I think mostly my playlists tend to swing heartily from Tool to Oceansize fairly regularly.

What can we expect to see/hear from you in 2010?
Gareth: We hope to record a new EP shortly and you can count on us gigging our socks off!
Chris: We might be dropping a digital single too in the coming months. We like to make our own DIY videos aswell so there'll probably be even more YouTube clips of us looking silly in 2010.
Mike: Hopefully some very fun things. We’ve recently teamed up with Define Pop management so hopefully things are on the up

.

theredshow - Dirty Blue (MP3)


Myspace

St. Vincent - Morning Becomes Eclectic , KCRW Session (10/02/2010)

Track Listing
1. The Strangers
2. Save Me From What I Want
3. Just The Same
4. Actor Out of Work
5. Black Rainbow
6. Marrow
7. Laughing With a Mouthful of Blood

Download

Friday Freebies

Mitchell Museum
As you might have gathered I have a lotta love for the 'Museum, so when it came to this weeks FF's this one went straight to the top of the pile. In anticipation of the release of their debut album, ‘The Peters Port Memorial Service’ they have decided to put a bunch a few old tracks out on a little 6 track EP called “We lost 1^st prize”. As if that wasn't amazing enough they're giving it all away for free on their Bandcamp.
Mitchell Museum with zeez tracks you are really spoiling us!

Eugene McGuinness/Eugene + The Lizards
Eugene + The Lizards are releasing a double A-Side single featuring the tracks 'Bugjuice' and I Want Action, the tracks will be available from 1st March via digital download. Oddly though Bugjuice is available now as a free download from his website, go figure. Or go download now.

Joanna Newsom
Drag City have put up a wee sampler from the forthcoming Joanna Newsom album 'Have One On Me', you can download the song 'Kingfisher', just right click save, and hey presto you're on your way to a better life.

United Fruit
The noisy as fuck weegie quartet, United Fruit have put up three songs recorded live at Oran Mor to for free download, get downloading here.

I'm From Barcelona
While touring around the world with their two latest releases “Let Me Introduce My Friends” (2006) and “Who Killed Harry Houdini” (2008) the members of I’m from Barcelona have been working on the upcoming “27 Songs from Barcelona”. Inspired by Kiss’ simultaneous release of four solo albums in 1978, “27 Songs from Barcelona” features one solo song for every member in I’m from Barcelona. You can download the songs that have been posted so far here.

The Late Call
'Born in Germany, currently based in Stockholm, and having cut his teeth on the live circuit in Edinburgh whilst studying here, you could say the Late Call (aka Johannes Meyer) is a truly international artist'. The band have a free MP3 of their song 'Linnea' available to download over at Tapete Records. If you like what you hear then you you can catch The Late Call tonight at the Wee Red Bar in Edinburgh or tomorrow in Glasgow at the Flying Duck.

Plan B
I know it's not an MP3, but it's too good not to mention, Plan B the much missed indie magazine has put all of it's back issues up for free download (torrent), you can download them all here.

Triple J
The Aussie Radio Station has a whole host of free MP3's up for you to get your grubby little mitts on, so if you fancy checking out what's floating our Antipodean cousins proverbial boats then look no further. There is also a whole host of other stuff that you will have heard of, including Fyfe Dangerfield (Gulliemots frontman), Midlake and Shout Out Louds.
A banquet of free tunes awaits you here.

Beggars USA
Has a whole host of free MP3s up for download, including tracks from Taken By Trees, Holly Miranda, The Morning Benders, Basia Bulat, The Mountain Goats, Vampire Weekend, Golden Silvers, Jeffrey Lewis, Elvis Perkins, The XX, Blue Roses, British Sea Power, St. Vincent and Titus Andronicus. Get downloading here.

X-Lion Tamer - Vic Galloway Session (11/02/10)

Track Listing
1. Neon Hearts
2. Life Support Machine
3. Starsign (Teenage Fan Club cover)
4. I Said Stop

Download

Glasgow Hinterland Festival 2010 - Line Up Takes Shape

NB - this post originally went up last week and was subsequently removed as the line up hadn't been officially confirmed, so here we go go again, take 2......

I'm still pretty surprised to see that it's coming back for a second outing, but hey I'm not complaining any excuse for a party is fine by me. The multi-venue event takes place on Saturday the 3rd of April, details of the line up are starting to emerge, so far we have The mystery Jets, British Sea Power, Jeffrey Lewis (didn't he play last year? or was that at Stag & Dagger), Hot Club De Paris, Pulled About By Horses, Wave Pictures, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Fenech Soler, Johnny Foreigner, The Boy Who Trapped The Sun, Midnight Lion, Ambulances, Bleech, Kitty the Lion, Mazes, Spectrals, Veronica Falls, Fair Ohs, French Wives, The Kays Lavelle, Silver Coulmns, Panda Su, Little Yellow Ukuleles, plus DJ sets from Joe from Hot Chip and Friendly Fires (I'm sure there are others that I have missed here, so go and check the site for more detailed information).

In my original post I had stated that I thought there were only a few major standouts out for me personally. They were Ambulances who are going to be playing their first ever live show in Glasgow, that's got to be worth a tenner alone. With the other two being Midnight Lion and the Boy Who Trapped The Sun that genuinely got me excited. Thankfully though since the official launch, there are plenty more acts in there that get the old juices, Silver Columns playing their first Glasgow show and the lovely Panda Su, who has possibly one the the most beautiful live voices that I've heard in years. As they're two of the acts that I suggested as being one's to watch this year has got to be a good sign.
Hopefully this is just the start of things to come, as otherwise I could see things being even worse than last year which would be a real shame. Possibly the addition of one more big name band and a splattering of local talent should set Hinterland well on it's way.

Early bird tickets are on sale now for £10, certainly an improvement on the ridiculous price for last years tickets, they are on sale now here. For more up to date information one what's going on you might be better following them on twitter.

Hinterland

Community Service #2 - Elba Sessions

Week two of 'Community Service' and it gives me great pleasure to present to you with the multi-talented beast that is Elba Sessions. I first came across Elba after they launched their blog back in September of last year, to be honest I can't fully remember exactly how or what it was that lead me to stumbling across these guys. All that I know is that I am very glad I did. Now over to a lovely fella who goes by the name of Phil to introduce you to the wonderful world of Elba....

In your own words describe what Elba Sessions is:

It's evolved so much it's hard to describe! The Elba Sessions started as a monthly podcast showcasing a particular artist. We record them playing a couple of tracks and have a chat to them about their process behind writing songs and anything else that we think may be of interest. Now, the Elba Sessions incorporate a monthly residency at The Liquid Ship in Glasgow as well as having our own blog.

Please introduce the Elba team;

Three people make up the Elba team, Stephen, Chris (Knoxy) and myself, Phil. We all knew each other from uni. Chris and Stephen shared the same halls of residence (on Elba Street no less), and myself and Chris already knew each other from school in Aberdeen. Stephen runs Elba Studios in the West End so I suppose we'll call him our gaffer! Knoxy presents the podcasts and organises the gigs along with myself. I'm pretty hands on with the blog so it's me to blame for the content slump over New Year!! We also have a few extra bodies that we wheel in to help out. Steph Mulligan does photos for us and Kim Higgins will be starting to write for us on a more regular basis.

What was it that motivated you to start (1) doing the Elba Sessions (2) writing a blog (3) recording Podcasts?

Stephen started the Elba sessions as a podcast last July really as a supplement to the work he was doing in the studio. A lot of good bands/artists were recording in the studio and a podcast was a good bit of promo for both the musicians and the studio. Chris was soon drafted in to present the podcasts and I followed soon after to help out translating the Elba Sessions to gig form. We all muck in and help out with the gigs now because there are so many good bands we want to put on! The blog came as an extra. It was something that I'd wanted to start up for a while and this gave me the perfect excuse to do it. We've got the design and all that in place, it's just starting to fill up with content now and like I said before, I've got a bit of help with some writing on it and we're planning to having much more regular reviews and features.

What would you say has been the best thing to happen since you started it?

I suppose we would all have different answers for that. Personally when we put on the first elba gig I felt pretty proud. It was a busy night and we had a really good line up. The podcasts getting more listens is also good and I know that my two colleagues would probably count the Martin John Henry podcast as a high point being massive De Rosa fans!

For you personally what artist/band has excited you most over the past 12 months?

Doing the Elba Sessions and reading other blogs there are loads of bands to get excited about! I could probably make a huge list but notable ones would be Julia and The Doogans, The Scottish Enlightenment and Maple Leaves. I'm looking forward to hearing a lot more from them all this year.

For all the folk out there that haven’t heard an Elba Sessions podcast, why should they give you a listen?

I think when you are really into music, you like hearing new things or you like to hear a bit more about a band or artist. The podcast gives a bit more background to how the musician works as well as having some nice acoustic versions of their tracks.

Lastly, what can we expect to see/hear from Elba this year?

A lot more of the same. We've had a bit of hibernation over the big freeze but we've got a few gigs coming up, we're starting to record the podcasts again and we're going to get quite busy on the blog. January was the first month we had put the podcast on the blog so it feels like its really moving forward! We've become good friends with a couple of local labels, Antimatter and Armellodie, and are looking forward to doing some things with them over the next few months. We have plans...let's just see if we can put them into practice!

'Elba Sessions Presents' #4 takes place at The Liquid Ship in Glasgow on Friday 19th February. Heading up the bill for their first gig of 2010 are King James, personally I've never heard of them, but they're made up of The Diamond Family Archive and Thirty Pounds of Bone (Phil swears by this guy, and he seems to have taste, so I'd trust him on this one). Support on the evening comes from Maple Leaves, Craig Davidson and Cuddly Shark who will be playing an acoustic set, something which really has to be seen to be believed!
For further information head on over to their Homepage, where a plethora of interesting articles awaits you. Once you've finished having a snoop about on their head on over to their Myspace and listen to a stream of all of their Podcasts (the Martin John Henry one is my personal favourite in case you are interested. What do you mean you don't care. Fine then, be like that). Finally go and follow them on Twitter as that's what all the cool kids do.

Scots Way-Hay #2 - Brother Louis Collective

So here we are week two of 'Scots Way-Hay' and still that cheesy title isn't getting any better, thankfully though the music remains at a high standard. This weeks victims are 'Brother Louis Collective', an indie-pop five, sometimes going on six piece from Glasgow.
Based around lead singer Louis Abbott, they are one of the most exciting bands on the Scottish circuit at the moment. Their debut album, which is being produced by Paul Savage over at Chem 19, should hopefully see the light of day sometime this year. Watch out for it as it promises to be one of the most exciting releases to come from these fair shores in many a year. Here's Sarah from the band to give you a better incite on the band....

Would you care to introduce yourself?
Hello! We're Brother Louis Collective: Louis (vocals/guitar), Sarah (vocals/flute/piano), Kev (clarinet/piano), Joe (upright bass) and Phil (drums). Sometimes we're lucky enough to be joined on the electrical guitar by either Tom or Gordy.

How would you describe the music you make?
This is the question that's always hard to answer without sounding like a berk. We've been described as orchestral folk pop (clarinet included)...maybe just leave it at that!

How did you start out making music?
We'd all been involved in bands in our respective homelands of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Northumberland. Louis, Phil and I met at college in Glasgow, Louis and Kev bonded over a bar counter (purely platonic) and Joe's first encounter with Louis was in a funk band project in Dundee. They're quite secretive about it but from what I can gather it was pretty special...We started out doing acoustic gigs with a few of us and over time it just evolved into a bigger, more organised thing which makes for fun gigs. Although we're still working on the organised bit!

What process goes into the way you write songs?
When Louis has written a new song, he'll play it to the rest of us in rehearsal either with a couple of loose arrangement ideas or sometimes just the bare bones. And we just have a go at playing it lots of times, often finding the right vibe in bass and drums first of all, before coming up with more intricate lines (for instance on flute or piano) and different layers of the arrangement - getting the overall structure to work. The acid test is always playing it in a few gigs though - so we can get comfortable with it and make small changes if we want to.

What can we expect to see/hear from you in 2010?
We're releasing our debut album sometime in the first half of the year which we're really excited about! There's lots of things to sort out so we're in the process of doing that at the moment, and we have plans for a mini-tour around April time.

Brother Louis Collective - These Barren Years (MP3)
available to download on the List Magazines site



There are also some live recordings up for free dwonload on the Mills website.
Their debut single 'These Barren Years is still available to buy here on download, physical copies do crop up on Ebay from time to tim, but you're going to have be quick off the mark to get yourself one.
Myspace