Over the Wall - Fresh Air Session (13/11/10)

I must admit that it at the moment I am finding it a bit tricky to come up with a post for every day of the week. This is mainly because of the lack of radio sessions available for me to rip, I am getting quite picky in my old age. Thankfully though help is it at hand, thanks to a lovely chap by the name of Brian Pokora, who is very kindly going to be letting me post an array of sessions that he recorded for his show on Fresh Air. Kicking it all off we have the Over the Wall boys, but before we go on with the tunes here's Brian to tell you a bit more about the show, this session and how to get in touch with the show....



"This semester has seen the start of a new music show on fresh air. Myself and Charlotte who run Found In Sound on freshair.org.uk have been focussed on playing the best new music in Scotland and bringing our listeners sessions from some of the best bands around. Having these great bands in to play some stripped back sessions has resulted in a new weekly segment here on Peenko where we'll be posting the latest tracks from the fresh air studio. We've got even excellent bands coming up on the show over the next few months so you can check us out here, on our own blog Found In Sound or live on freshair.org.uk every Sunday 2 til 3 during term. If you'd like to get in touch you can contact us at foundinsound@ymail.com
Our first session comes from Over The Wall, the Glasgow duo have just released their debut album 'Treacherous' and I must say it is very good! We had a great time recording the session with the guys and along with songs from the new album we had a few exclusives. These were a special a cappella version of the track 'A History of British Welfarism 1945-1984' and 'Coming Home' which as far as I can tell, we have the first recording of. Enjoy!"

Track Listing
1. Thurso
2. Shifts
3. A History of British Welfarism 1945-1984
4. The Crucible
5. Coming Home

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Fresh Meat Monday - Johnny Reb

Would you care to introduce yourself?

When we last checked we were Johnny Reb; the necessary continuation from the Close Lobsters. We somehow just recorded with the mythical Boz Boorer of Morrissey fame in Portugal. Was ok, like.


How would you describe the music you make?

It's quite urgent & reasonably well informed. Thus elevating it somewhat.. (though it still smells like a wet dog)


How did you start out making music?

We listened to Two Door Cinema Club & the rest is history (theatrical wink)


What process goes into the way you write songs?

We slap on Mazzy Star, start crying, tops come off & we attempt to play along..


What can people expect from your live shows?

Full refunds & minimum enjoyment.


What are you all listening to at the moment?

Italo/shoegaze/twitchingarsehole... No, not really.. Rod Stewart 'I Don't Want To Talk About It' & contemporary Cantonese pop.


What can we expect to see/hear from you in the near future?

A quiet yet persistent knock from under the floorboards.

Johnny Reb - Emile

Johnny Reb play Studio Warehouse on Friday 3rd December as part of Glasgow Popfest

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Weekly Round Up (28/11/10)

Monday - Verse Metrics kicked off the week with some Fresh Meat action
Tuesday - there was a distinct lack of sessions this week, but thanks to my mate Tom we had this cracking live recording of Idlewild in Shetland
Wednesday - the fabulous Lorraine McCauley was my 43rd entry into the Scots Way-Hay club
Thursday - I had a live recording of Frightened Rabbit in San Francisco
Friday - after a bit of a lull over the past few weeks, Friday Freebies was back with a bit of a bang, highlights included tracks from Admiral Fallow, Thirty Pounds of Bone and Mogwai.
Saturday - Wooden Box With a Fistful of Fivers, Woodenbox With A Fist Full Of Fivers took on Lady Gaga in We've Got It Covered.

(sorry there are no links this week, normal service will be resumed next week)


News, gigs and any other gubbins......


Once again I am pretty low on news this week, I am away up north visiting my folks this weekend so I haven't had much of a chance to have a hunt about find out what's going on. The only thing I have to report is that my fellow Scottish music blogger, The Daily Dose Sir William Swales of Define Pop promotions have teamed up to put on a gig at the 13th Note in Glasgow on Tuesday (2nd). The line-up is: Super Adventure Club, PAWS, Hagana, Rollor, with doors at 8pm, tickets are £5.

I promise I'll have more for you next week....

We've Got It Covered #28

For me personally, Woodnbox are one of the finest pop bands in the country, yes I know that they're predominantly a folk band, but they don't have make some catchy pop tunes. So it makes sense that when they were asked to record a cover for the BBC when they were up at Rockness, that they'd choose a song by the new 'Queen of Pop', Lady Gaga.
Short but sweet this week as I am off up north to visit my folks to celebrate my dad's 60th, really looking forward to it too. See you all same time next week kids when I will be starting my festive covers.

Woodenbox With A Fist Full Of Fivers-Bad Romance (Lady Gaga cover)

Friday Freebies

Thirty Pounds Of Bone
I want to start this post by apologising to Phil at Elba Sessions, for almost a year he's been raving about Thirty Pounds Of Bone, did I pay any attention to him, did I bollocks. Along comes Al from Armellodie and suddenly I find myself raving about him. Phil you were right all along and I'm sorry. If you fancy finding out what he was getting all excited about then you're in luck as you can download his song Crack Shandy in the Harbour taken from his forthcoming album Method, for free here.

Admiral Fallow
For any of you out there who have tickets to see Frightened Rabbit on their UK tour, make sure you get your backside down nice and early as these guys (n girl) are the opening act. Already fairing pretty well on a number of Scottish bloggers album of the year lists, if you haven't already checked them out then now is the time to get yourself acquainted. There are two free downloads up for grabs on their Bandcamp page, an alternative version of their song 'Delivered', plus as if that wasn't enough the rather fabulous 'Subbuteo' is also up for grabs too on their Bandcamp. I should also like to point out that it was my good friend Luke (aka I Build Collapsible Mountains) that took the picture of the Subbuteo figurine. Also, Jamie - that is what happened to your Everton player....

French Wives
Having recently picked the first ever Scotsman Radar Prize a few weeks back, those lovely French Wives aren't ones to rest on their laurels. Continuing on with their series of Home Fires posts, on Monday they posted up their song 'We're All Away'. You can get it for free here, be quick though as it'll only be up for a few more days.

FOUND
Last Sunday I saw FOUND for the first time in ages and it confirmed it one thing for me, the release of their new album on Chemikal Underground is going to be pretty damn special. Until it's release we're going to have to make do with their weekly freebie, as always I do this in advance so I have no idea what this song is going to be. All I know is that you can get it here.

King Creosote
Ever wondered what Mr Anderson would sound like covering Underworld, then wonder no more as you can pick yourself up a free download of his take of 'Always Loved A Film' here.

Trapped Mice
Up and coming Edinburgh starlets, Trapped Mice are set to release their first proper EP, 'Portrait of the Great Father' on the 4th of December as a limited edition run of CD's. Being the kind souls that they are, they've posted up the EP for free download already, you can find it here.

Mogwai
Scotland's finest postrockers return with their new album, 'Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will' on the 14th of February, stuff flowers I know what I am buying Mrs Peenko for Valentines Day this year. If you head over to Pitchfork just now then you'll find a wee link to download 'Rano Pano' from it for nowt. While I'm thinking about Pitchfork, what the fuck was that 10/10 review for Kanye West all about, fucking hipsters....

Capitals
The Edinburgh recorded a cracking wee session for Vic Galloway earlier in the week, if you liked what you heard or you missed it, then you can find out more by grabbing yourself a free download of their single 'Hello World' from their website in exchange for your email address.

Gay For Johnny Depp
You can download their new single Get 'Pink Flag' for free here in exchange for your email address.

Pacific Theatre
In the build up to their show at King Tut's, Pacific Theatre have decided to give away a free download of their track, 'A Silent Argument' here.

Ryan Adams
Stereogum have a free download of a previously unreleased MP3 from Ryan Adams forthcoming 'Cardinals III/IV', get it here.

Lykke Li
Head over to SoundCloud for a free download of Lykke Li's new single ‘Get Some’ plus b- side ‘Paris Blue’. While you're listening to your new tunes check out this fan page, it's quite possibly the funniest site I've seen all year.

Gang Of Four
The Guardian has posted up a free download of a new EP from old school punks, Gang Of Four, you can get yer grubby little paws on it here.

Kate And After
Our good friend Kowalskiy featured this Swedish band a few weeks back, being a bit slow to give the a listen. They're on my never ending to do lost, but I am going to trust the docs judgement with this one, you can too by downloading their EP 'Things To Do' for free here.

Bear Driver/Sky Larkin
I am a big fan of Bear Driver, so it came as a nice surprise to find out they'd done a wee remix for their good friends Sky Larkin of their track 'ATM', which as you guessed it, it's free here.

The Girobabies
A last minute entry for this weeks freebies comes from The Girobabies who have posted up their track 'Big Society' up for free download.

Capitals - Vic Galloway Sesssion (25/11/10)

Track Listing
1. A Spectre Is Haunting Europe
2. Where We Meet
3. Running
4. Skin

Download

Admiral Fallow - BBC Radio Nottingham Session (25/11/10)

Track Listing
1. These Barren Years
2. Old Balloons

Download

Frightened Rabbit - Live at Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco (10/10/10)

Track Listing
1. (intro)
2. Things
3. The Modern Leper
4. Nothing Like You
5. Old Old Fashioned
6. Swim Until You Can't See Land
7. The Wrestle
8. I Feel Better
9. Fast Blood
10. Backwards Walk
11. Not Miserable
12. Head Rolls Off
13. Be Less Rude
14. Good Arms Versus Bad Arms
15. Yes I Would
16. Living In Colour
17. Keep Yourself Warm

Encore:
18. Poke
19. The Twist
20. The Loneliness and the Scream

Download

Thanks go out to to dmonkey and Cut Here for passing this on.
If you would like a copy of the FLACS just send me a wee email

Scots Way-Hay #43 - Lorraine McCauley

The older I get, the more I find myself listening to folk music. It's odd to think that during my teens I grew up on a staple diet of heavy rock and punk. I think my teenage self would be horrified by my current taste in music, then again what do kids at that age know. I think it helps that there are so many talented folk artists in Scotland at the moment, perhaps there always were, but at least now I am picking up on them. The most recent artist to prick my ears up is singer-songwriter, Lorraine McCauley, who originally hails from the Inishowen Peninsula, Donegal, and now lives in Edinburgh.
She sent me over a copy of her new EP, 'Haunt Me' a good few weeks back, at the time I was pretty swamped doing stuff for Olive Grove. Normally there would have been a danger of it being over looked, but there was something about her voice that really struck a chord with me. She appears to draw inspiration from an array of folk-rock singers, personally I hear touches of Laura Marling, Joni Mitchell and even a touch of Karine Polwart in there.
At this time of year as everything starts to slow down a little, it's just that bit too cold to venture out, and you'd rather just stay cosy at home. Well this is the perfect soundtrack for these kind of evenings.



Would you care to introduce yourself?

Hello, I'm Lorraine from Lorraine McCauley & The Borderlands. Pleased to meet you.


How would you describe the music you make?

Ah ha well I'd say that it is a Modern Folksy kinda thing. With myself on the guitar and singing and The Borderlands on cello, accordion, viola, fiddle, glock and any other instruments on hand at the time.


How did you come together as a band?

I met Jonee Duggan the accordian player and sound engineer when playing a gig in Glasgow and that set in motion the formation of our band, Lorraine McCauley & The Borderlands. We decided on a free trade swap. Jonee recorded my songs and I gave him singing lessons. Jonee then accompanied my songs on the accordion as well. I first met Nick Jenkins a fiddle, viola and mandolin player in a late night jamming session at a festival. So when I seen him perform again at Creative Scotland I asked him to play on the EP. Billy Hamilton seen me performing at Secret CD’s in Edinburgh and offered to play cello. So Billy joined us in the studio too for the recording of my debut EP "Haunt me" and from that The Borderlands came to life.


How did you start out making music?

I grew up in Donegal and from an early age I was singing in Irish Feiseanna. But it wasn't until I went to live in Japan that I picked up the guitar and started writing my own material. During this time I collaborated with many artists ranging in styles from folk rock to trip hop. Mostly I wrote songs and performed with Japanese multi-instrumentalist artist Ritsuko under the name RiLo. Upon leaving Japan I travelled throughout England working, farming and finding my own way of writing and singing. But it wasn’t until moved to Edinburgh that I started writing and gigging regularly, inspired by the vibrant Scottish folk scene here.


What process goes into the way you write songs?

I write songs and then bring them to the band. The guys are all extremely talented and develop their parts and really bring the songs to life. Who are your big musical influences? People whose music inspires me would be Martha Wainwright for her honesty and freedom, Jesca Hoop for her originality and creativity and Karine Polwart for her ability to tell great stories in her songs.


What kind of influence do you feel that where you come from has had on the music you create?

Well growing up in Donegal traditional music was part of life, so I'd say that has influenced my accompaniment choices. What can people expect to see/hear from your live shows? See? Me in a dress usually and three men with beards if they haven't shaved recently! Hear? The modern folk sound of Lorraine & The Borderlands with lyrics that reach out to you from the start with music for the soul and senses ;0)


Has there been a particular gig that has stood out for you so far (good or bad)?

Our fourth gig as a band was at Knockngorrach festival in the West of Scotland – we sharing the line up with Jesca Hoop, King Creosote, The Beat and Lunasa and it was amazing. The crowd we're great and in the middle of our set two stilt walkers joined in the performance with an impromptu dance to our music.


What are your plans for the rest of the year and beyond? Do you have any new releases planned for any time soon?

Next up is the official launch event for our debut EP "Haunt me" at Coda Music, Dec 1st at 6pm. We will be playing live in Coda Music Shop on the Mound in Edinburgh and celebrating with mulled wine and mince pies. So we hope to see you there. To find out more please visit Myspace or join or Facebook page Lorraine McCauley & The Borderlands.

Lorraine McCauley - Haunt Me


Lorraine McCauley's EP, Haunt Me is available to pre-order now through CD Baby, you can also download it on iTunes and through Amazon. On the 1st of December, Lorraine an her band The Borderlands celebrate it's release with a gig at Coda Music in Edinburgh.

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Idlewild - Support Your Local Poet - North Star Centre, Shetland Isles 30-05-02

Track Listing
1. Shetland Interview
2. (I am) What I am Not
3. Little Discourage
4. You Held the World in Your Arms
5. I Am A Message
6. Idea Track
7. These Wooden Ideas
8. American English
9. When I Argue I See Shapes
10. Century After Century
11. I Am Happy To Be Here Tonight
12. Rusty
13. Stay The Same
14. Roseability
15. In A Remote Part
16. A Film For The Future

Download

A Massive Thank You goes out to Tom for sending me this over, you're a star fella!

Fresh Meat Monday - Verse Metrics

Photo by Luke Joyce

Would you care to introduce yourself?

Bob: Vocals and Guitar. Al: The other guitar Martin: Drums

Dave - Bass


How would you describe the music you make?

Bob: If we're labelling, I would say we're alternative/independent. If we're trying to describe our sound I'd say we like to have depth to our songs, whether we're playing quiet or loud, and like our songs to be atmospheric. Al: I think it's original. That's the main thing. There are a lot of influences on our writing from different bands and themes, but I class it as alternative. Martin: Pretty words, interesting floaty vocal melodies, powerful bits. The odd disjointed/unpredictable section. Dave: I'd say it's varied. There's an effort to avoid writing the same song twice.


How did you start out making music?

Bob: I joined a band four years ago, and over that time the line-up slowly changed until it was just myself and Dave (bass) left from the original band. Al and Martin joined us last year and we started from scratch as a 4-piece. Martin: I knew Bob from my youth, he introduced me to the other guys. It was a case of writing songs from the first practice. It's always been a creative process.


What process goes into the way you write songs?

Bob: I bring in initial ideas and then we expand on them as a band. I try not to over-write anything before presenting ideas, I'll usually bring in a collection of riffs and/or vocal melodies, then we go from there. We take our time and analyse the songs a lot over weeks or months: basically until we're happy. We all write parts for the songs and I love working that way. It leads to an end product with quite a few layers. Al: There's definitely a fair bit of evolution goes on. It's a collaborative effort where everyone is responsible for their own parts and the end result is 'Verse Metrics'. The whole band get the writing credit as it comes together from Bob's initial concepts.


What can people expect from your live shows?

Bob: We try to be as honest as possible when we're playing live, none of us ever really think about doing scissor kicks or sex faces. If it looks like we're having a good time/concentrating/worried it's because we are! If we've got good sound we'll put on a good show. Dave: I must admit that I'm guilty of the odd sex face. Definitely unintentional.


What are you all listening to at the moment?

Bob: Happy Particles, United Fruit, Pensioner and Trapped In Kansas. Al: Black International, Lightguides, a few old Seafood albums and I Build Collapsible Mountains. There's not much need to look further than Scotland's unsigned scene at the minute. There's about 20 other bands I could've mentioned. Martin: Just now I'm listening to Deftones: Diamond Eyes, which I think is one of the best albums I've heard in a long time. Other than that I'm listening to a lot of Stapleton and Twin Atlantic at the moment. I like originality in music as well as melody and passion, and I think all those bands offer that. Dave: A playlist on my phone which is home to tracks from Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, Metallica and Korn


What can we expect to see/hear from you in the near future?

Bob: We have our debut EP release and our first ever tour, which is taking shape quite nicely. Looking forward to hitting the road and playing people our music... as well as enjoying ourselves along the way Martin: We've got an epic new stage routine, which involves us fencing with our cocks. Dave's been working on his light sabre noises. I can't really say much more.

Tired Lights by Verse Metrics

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Weekly Round Up (21/11/10)

Monday - Kicking off the week the Scottish Enlightenment talked us through their amazing new album 'St. Thomas. The Plimptons also took on Fresh Meat action, in addition there was also The Sexual Objects session for Marc Riley.
Tuesday - another cracking session from The Phantom Band
Wednesday - Let's Talk About Trees were my 42nd Scots Way-Hay club entrants
Thursday - there was even more Let's Talk About Trees this time it was a session for SubCity. On top of that I had a wee interview with my new partner in crime Halina Rifai as I got her to tell you a bit about our new venture, Olive Grove.
Friday - there were some cracking freebies, including stuff from French Wives, FOUND and Badly Drawn Boy.
Saturday - Meursault take on Daniel Johnston's 'Hey Joe' in We've Got It Covered.


News, gigs and any other gubbins......

The National are in Glasgow on Friday to play a show at the Academy, personally I can't wait for this one. Sadly if you haven't gotten yourself a ticket you're a bit stuff as the gig is sold out, you can however catch the band spinning some tunes at Pin Up Nights 7th birthday at the Flying Duck. Also playing live on the night are local starlets Skinny Villains, For Abel and Strawberry Ocean Sea.


Before I wrap things up for the week I just want to let you know about a wee project from a gentleman by the name of Jer Reid, who also plays in Issho Taiko Drummers. He is embarking on a project called the 'Winter Cycle', in which he plans to do a 31 day series of improvised duos with a different collaborator each day. He has arranged an array of artists to get on board with the project including Luke Sutherland, Rosalind Masson, RM Hubbert, Xana Marwick, Joseph L. Quimby Jr, Cheer, Christine DeVaney, Iain Campbell and Wounded Knee. The series of gigs kick off at midday from Sunday 5th December 2010 through until Tuesday January 4th 2011, with the majority of the gigs taking place at Stereo in Glasgow. Performances on December 25th, January 1st and January 2nd will be at the Flying Duck (man that is some dedication). Further details on the gigs can be found on his website.

We've Got It Covered #27

Last night I did something which I haven't done for ages, which was take an evening off from dealing with emails, blogging and the Internet in general. After the craziness of the past few weeks it felt quite refreshing to be able to stuff my face with Chinese and to veg on the couch. I guess what I am trying to say in a roundabout way is that I haven't replied to a message you've sent me, it's not cause I don't love you. It's just cause I have a bit of a backlog of stuff to get through. Anyway, on with this weeks cover which comes from Meursault and their take on Daniel Johnston's 'Hey Joe'. Recorded as part of a session that they did for Vic Galloway back in May, I think this cover fits perfectly with this time of year in Scotland, enjoy....

Meursault - Hey Joe (Daniel Johnston cover)

Friday Freebies

French Wives
Love this band. Really I do. They really are fucking awesome, if you haven't already come across them then you're in luck as for the foreseeable they are going to be posting a free tune every Monday under the banner of 'The Home Fires'. You can find out a bit more about it all on their Myspace blog, all you really need to know for now is that you can get their song 'Your Friends and Mine' for free here.

Song By Toad
I am pretty sure Matthew Toad called me a cunt on his podcast last week, then again he did play Randolph's Leap so he's forgiven. He has couple of releases just out/coming out, one from Savings & Loan and the other from Yusuf Azak. Head on over to Toad HQ where you will find a free download from both artists.

Miaoux Miaoux
Has posted up a cracking remix of Silver Columns 'Brow Beaten' here.

Asobi Seksu
They have a new album coming out soon, you can get the track 'Trails' for free here.

FOUND
I am none the wiser as to what this weeks free tune from those lovely FOUND boys will be, all I know is that it'll be very good and you should download it.

Fight Like Apes
There is a free download of the band live at Eurosonic on their homepage.

Girl Talk

There is a whole album from Girl Talk up for free download here.

Penguins Kill Polar Bears
The Edinburgh band have a free download of Wish With Worry (Supasub Remix) up for grabs on their Bancamp.

Val Verde
Dunfermline band Val Verde have a few free downloads up for grabs on their Bandcamp, check out 'Can You Hear Me?' which is rather nifty.

James Vincent McMorrow
His debut EP came out on Monday, you can download the lead track from it, 'If I Had A Boat' for free here.

Angkorwat
There is a free EP called 'Early' up for grabs on their Bandcamp.

Badly Drawn Boy
Man I loved that first Badly Drawn Boy album, sadly though it's pretty much gone downhill ever since for me. Has he raginaed his old touch, you can make your own mind up by downloading a new tune here.

Pilotlight
There is a free download of their song 'All Purpose Underneath' up for grabs here.

Ethan Ash
His song 'Tried to Get Rid of Me’ is available for free download exclusively through iTunes for a limited time starting today and is available via this link.



Kowalskiy's Komplimentary Korner

The Doc is back with his monthly free EP, this month he has songs from Te Winter Tradition, Miaoux Miaoux, JJ Bull, Dead Boy Robotics and The Last Battle. You can download it over on his Bandcamp page.

Scottish DIY Labels #13 - Olive Grove Records

In case you don't already know, today is a pretty fucking massive week for me, on Monday there Olive Grove Records officially launched. In case you don't already know this is a venture started up by myself and Halina Rifai of Glasgow Podcart infamy. It's always been a dream of both of ours so it made sense for us to team up together as we're both so involved in our local scene.
I think Halina is keen to emphasise that Olive Grove is a totally separate venture from Podcart, personally I have no shame and I kind of think that this blog and the label will almost run hand in hand, i.e. you have been warned that I am going to whore Olive Grove on here, a lot.
When I originally thought up the idea of running a series of posts on Scottish DIY labels, I did have a bit of an ulterior motive which was to try and get a couple of tips off my peers before we launched ourselves into the big bad world. Now that we are officially 'out there' I really wanted to run a wee interview to let know folk a bit more about what we're all about. Seeing as interviewing myself would seem a tad mental, I got my partner in crime, Ms Rifai to do it for me instead.....

Would you care to introduce yourself?

Hi my name is Halina ‘facial hair lover’ Rifai


What inspired you to start your own label?

I have always wanted to do it since my teens. I was heavily influenced by people such as Rough Trade, but also a lot of radio DJ’s such as John Peel and countless musicians. I just felt that sometimes people were not getting heard enough that genuinely deserved it and if I could help then so be it. It was too much for just myself so I asked you to help and you said yes which was nice. Now it is all a bit surreal and very fucking emotional.


Who do you have signed to your label?

It is not so much signed as who we are releasing, The beauty about Olive Grove is the artists have the freedom to release with ourselves and then see what they want to do going forward. Effectively, we are like a platform at the moment and if these artists get some kind of recognition then we have done our job. We cover the costs of production and any profits go to the artists and that’s the way I think it should be.


Being based in Scotland do you only sign Scottish artists?

We have a tremendous wealth of talent in Scotland at the moment and going forward. The community spirit displayed by bloggers, websites, podcasters and even labels has been overwhelming so effectively by all joining together it amplifies what talent we have in this country. We focus on Scottish artists because we know more about them and they are on our doorstep so it makes sense.


Is this something you do as a hobby or can you make a living from it?

It isn’t a hobby. It has too much of my passion to be a hobby. Actually, yes it’s a passion. To me this is as important as having a body part. It takes our lives forward because it is something we genuinely love and even though we have to put money into it from our real life jobs or other activities then so be it. Fuck it, I would rather be poor and happy than Simon Cowell and paying for a penis enlargement.


Do you have a certain type of sound that you look for in a band?

Never. There is no pigeon holing, if we listen and love it then we approach the artist and take it from there.


How do you go about deciding which artists you want to work with?

How do you go about approaching them?Again, following the previous question it is about the music. It has to be. If there is an artist that is intriguing, that we think deserves a platform and is genuinely passionate and great at what they do then we will take interest. With Randolph’s Leap (debut release) and Esperi (2nd release) both those individuals fit the bill.


What has been you personal highlight from running the label so far? What has been your biggest success?

Well considering we only launched November 15th, then I think that is essentially it. It is one of my dreams come true and going by the press that Randolph's Leap and Olive Grove have received then I think we will be just fine.


If you could give one piece of advice to someone wanting to start up their own label, what would it be and why?

Think about exactly why you are doing it and what you want out of it. It can be all too easy to say yes to something without thinking about the consequences. You must have commitment, passion and be prepared for a lot of obstacles.


What can we expect to see and hear from the label in the future?

Well next is Esperi’s limited edition Christmas release. Chris (Esperi) may say I am biased, but I genuinely think it is a cracking double A Side. The CD’s will be in handmade snowman made by the wonderful I heart… and we have the Christmas Party on December 22ndwith Randolph’s Leap and RM Hubbert (legend) at The 13th Note.After that we need to decide what artist is next! If it is anything like so far then my heart is going to get so big it will burst and I will sound even more gay than I do now.

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Let's Talk About Trees - Pop Goes The Revolution (Subcity Radio) Session (12/11/10)

Track Listing
1. Let's Talk About Trees
2. Lumberjack's Lament

Download

A massive thank you goes out to George from Pop Goes The Revolution for letting me share these MP3's with you. Make sure you tune into his SubCity show every Friday for some top tune action

Scots Way-Hay #42 - Let's Talk About Trees

I guess I must have a bit of a thing for side projects at the moment, to say that these side projects are a bit of out of the ordinary would be playing it down somewhat. A couple of weeks ago I featured a drummer with a penchant for playing lo-fi pop songs and also for wearing plant pots on his napper. This week it's the turn of Let's Talk About Trees, who consist of Kieran and Chris who also play with Washington Irving and John Knox Sex Club. During the summer they wrote and recorded a concept album about trees. Yes, you read that right, trees.
Apparently it all started as bet made in the pub, "I bet we can make an album about trees in a couple of weeks". And over the course of 3 or 4 nights spread over a couple of weeks they managed to write and record a 12 track record. Now if I hadn't heard the tunes and I was currently in your position I would be sitting there thinking that this sounds like the worst idea ever. Trust me though, from what was originally a drunken bet, the boys have created a cracking wee record that will take many by surprise. I just wish that the drunken ideas I had in the pub turned out to be half as a good as this. Here's Chris from the band to talk a bit more about trees with you all......


Would you care to introduce yourself?

We are Chris McGarry and Kieran Heather, and this is our project Let's Talk About Trees.


How would you describe the music you make?

I can answer this in two different ways. For the purposes of an interview, I can say we're inspired by The Magnetic Fields, Tom Waits, The Beta Band, Caribou and Four Tet to an extent. However, I don't think this is how we sound - if I'm being honest I don't really know, it's something for the listener to decide.


How did you start out making music?

Myself and Kieran have been playing in bands for years - we both grew up in Oban and formed/played in numerous bands while we were in high school but didn't actually properly cross paths till we started working together in a pub in Glasgow - by chance. Kieran went on to join Washington Irving and we just started writing music ourselves as a past-time.


What process goes into the way you write songs?

Unlike any of the bands we've been in before, we write and record the Trees stuff at the same time essentially. There's sometimes a riff or some lyrics before we start but it was all done over a few nights spread out over a couple of months. We love that 3 AM moment of genius - some of the best bits on the record are thanks to the degradation of our mental well being due to exhaustion. I think the release from being the rhythm section in bands gave us a lot of enthusiasm towards the project and working with Ableton and using synths is a very refreshing process.


What can people expect from your live shows?

We're playing our first ever show (it's also our album launch) on the 20th of November in Stereo. I'd like to say the show is going to be like Cirque du Soleil but that's only in my head. It's going to be great though - we're going to have a lot of stage props and costumes to coincide with the Trees vibe. We encourage everyone in attendance to do the same - it will be a group experience and the more everyone gets involved, the better.


What kind of influence do you feel that where you come from has had on the music you create?

I think that certainly growing up in Scotland meant we all got ingrained as kids with traditional music and that certainly influenced Washington Irving to an extent - we've tried to make an indie rock version of Celtic music kind of like the Pogues did for punk music - that definitely affected our approach to this record. We're both much more into old folk music these days and certainly various folk instruments. Like the bazookie, mandolin, autoharp, singing saw, etc. I think when people listen to music and hear instruments they're not familiar with they might stop in their tracks and listen a bit harder.


What's your favourite tree?

There is actually a song on the record called Darwinian Woolyback which is essentially us listing off names of trees with our best/worst attempt at Lemon Jelly backing it. So I'm going to say Darwinian Woolyback because it was our favourite of the ones we listed! Although, there is another tree that we discovered on Stornoway when playing some shows with WI that has the biggest leaves we have ever seen. Needless to say Kieran wore one like a cape proudly for a few hours before we got the ferry - I'm hoping we can track some down before the show on the 20th! (I believe the tree might be a Philippine Coral Tree but I'm not sure about it).


If the music career doesn't take off, do you reckon you could make a living being a lumberjack?

I would like to see this as a realistic opportunity! My girlfriend stayed up in Strontian for a wee bit working on a farm and I helped do some woodchipping for the local eco group when I stayed. This involved big gloves, safety goggles and a lumberjack shirt. Might be a segway into a new industry! If it did happen, I'd need Kieran by my side singing songs about trees though. Solidarity!

What are you all listening to at the moment?

I forgot to ask Kieran this question but I'm sure he's listening to a lot of Davy Graham, Tom Waits and the Phantom Band. I'm listening to much of the same but also Caribou, Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Mogwai. As well as the Let's Talk About Trees record as I've been remixing and mastering it myself to little success - Kieran is totally against me mixing it again - he feels very spur of the moment and spontaneous about this record and I do agree with him but I'm a bit self-conscious and worry about pointless niggly little things. Such as the sound of an electronic rim shot in the latter parts of a song. Madness.


What can we expect to see/hear from you in the near future?

The main thing you will hear from us is this album we are about to release: Let's Talk About Trees. We kind of call ourselves Eno Love Child as a sweeping term for whatever we do but we decided to just name the whole thing Let's Talk About Trees. The next record will be entirely different, we've been considering making a meta educational album that is enjoyable on two seperate levels. So adults and kids can enjoy it in their own way. That's well into next year though. You can also expect more music videos, seeing as our first one has been met with such a great response!


Let's Talk About Trees - Bonzai Tree

Let's Talk About Trees play their debut gig which also their album launch at Stereo in Glasgow on the 20th of November. It promises to be a riotous evening, with Instinctive Racoon DJ's plus some very special guests who are still be announced. Copies of their limited edition album, which has been hand made album will be available on the evening.



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The Phantom Band - Marc Riley Session (15/11/10)

Track Listing
1. Into The Corn
2. O
3. The None of One
4. Walls

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The Scottish Enlightenment - St.Thomas: Track By Tack

I guess if you are like me and you read a lot of Scottish blogs, then you will be fully aware of the 'buzz' surrounding the Scottish Enlightenment at the moment. If not, then just trust me on this one, there is quite a stir brewing on the old blogosphere about this lot.
So is the buzz justified, quite simply, 'fuck yes'. The four piece from Fife have quietly managed to produce an album of great beauty which deserves your full attention and love.
I have been living with this album for quite a while now and every day it grows on me a little bit more. I find the songs slowly seeping into my brain, so much so that it's not even a conscious decision when I find myself hitting play on my MP3 player.
I spoke to Al from their label Armellodie a month or so back who confessed that he had been sitting on the album since around the turn of the year. I don't think I would have been able to keep an album this good a secret for that long. Anyway that's enough of my ramblings, here's David from the band to let you know a bit more about the album as he talks us through all of the tracks....

Gal Gal

This is a bit of a manifesto for the album. I think it sets out our intentions sonically, all the feedback, the grandness. There's a video somewhere on the internet of me doing a pretty disturbing froggy kind of dance to this, playing a wee keyboard on the floor. It was originally called 'How to Build a Church'. Gal Gal is a name that came from one of my illicit Wikipedia raids at work. It is a Hebrew phrase related to angelic creatures in some context or other, and it carries a meaning along the lines of 'rotation of fortune' or 'change'. So it think it makes for a pretty good intro to the album.


Earth Angel

Someone said in a review of the album that we screwed up this 'Back to the Future' reference. It should be noted that The Penguins first recorded the song Earth Angel, so who's to say it wasn't a penguins reference eh? Well it wasn't. It was a big fat Marvin Berry reference. Alternatively, its about an angel come to earth. We were a bit concerned about putting this song at the start of the record, because its very slow, very repetitive. But it felt a lot like the kind of band we have become. Repetition is a great thing, and its at the root of pop music. Repetition in bass and drums makes people dance. And I think repetition of simple, beautiful melody can be hypnotic. Like meditating. Bottom line, we like it, and we decided to do a lot of it on this record for that reason. Some people wont like the repetition. The Fall like repetition. My wife doesn't. So be it.


Little Sleep

This is the radio friendly unit shifter. Only its not really been played on the radio much. It's a song about a boy and a girl getting through hard times together. Soppy, that. I've always thought is sounds like Arcade Fire, but I'm not sure it actually does. Its always good playing it live; I end up playing the outro bit differently every time, but usually the aim is to break the low E string. Our old bass player Karen sings on this, and she sings on Earth Angel, List Right and The Soft Place too. And plays the cornet parts. She's our fifth Beatle.

The Scottish Enlightenment - St. Thomas by peenko

Taxidermy of Love

This sounds like a fairytale to me. A friend of mine, Beth, plays Clarsach on it, which is a small harp. She's a doctor and was in between some pretty hardcore shifts, and did a brilliant job just making stuff around the three chords. I told her to just wander about the chords absent-mindedly, which i think wasn't a problem as she was jiggered. It sounds ace to me. I like this song a lot. When we were first arranging it Dave played the raked chords that come in after the first verse and it gave me shivers. I think that set us on the fairytale path with the whole song. Its got some little twee melodies that i love, but its really like musical fantasy. Maybe its the sort of music Tim Burton would record. Or maybe Tim Allen.


Pascal

The intimate song. Angus plays chords on the bass all the way through, bless his wee ginger soul. We played the outro to this for about ten minutes straight in Dundee a couple of years ago. That was us falling in love with repetition.


Necromancer

This is the oldest song on the album. Its been around for a few years, and it used to have another verse and probably two guitar solos. Its much better now. I love the guitar sound in between the verses - a totally bone-shaking clatter. Its a love song this. Albeit a bit of a creepy one.


The First Will Be Last

This song was going to be on Little Sleep EP, because it was recorded after all the main recording sessions we did at Green Door Studio in Glasgow. But everyone liked the song so much we ended up putting it on. And its pretty important to the story the album tells. But its probably the darkest song on the album, the most despairing. And we found it very easy to arrange - it works kind of like a singer-songwriter thing. I just play guitar and sing the song, and the band plays along. Its really nice to have a song like that to play live.


List Right

If The First Will Be Last is the darkest song, this is the most gloomy. There is a difference. Im a connoisseur of the miserable. Musically its a great big moan, and it would probably be unlistenably gloomy if it wasn't for the big rising piano bit in the middle. When i first wrote this song I was listening to The Boatman's Call and Nocturama by Nick Cave. Hence the gloom, the piano, the low vocals.


The Soft Place

A few years ago i helped run a film festival on the topic of organ transplants. It showed 21 Grams and another movie, and a lot of documentaries. One was about a people going through living donor kidney transplants. The emotions involved are cataclysmic. Everyone is facing the possibility of death. Everyone is terrified. There's guilt on the part of the one requiring the transplant. There's love and hope too. Having a kidney cut out is awful. Having to live with a kidney that isn't yours is awful. But the alternative is worse. There's some enduring truth about what people are always going to face - things will be really hard at some point and the only way through will be really hard. So this is a love song too. And its probably the most uplifting song on the record. The end sounds like a church congregation singing.


My Bible Is

This song sums things up a bit. The album is about a church-goer's tussle with faith and doubt. This song is about the ambivalence that an honest person will find in everything. We decided to make it one big crescendo built up of all the parts, so that the song would be a big stack of staggered parts, leaving a big overwhelming clamour at the end. It means there are too many parts for us to play live though. So its only for special occasions. We're due to play it on Vic Galloway's show in December with a wee choir. Should be cracking.



St.Thomas is out today on CD and Digital Download through the excellent Armellodie Records.
I would strongly suggest that you get it added to this years Christmas wish list, or perhaps you could even treat yourself. Go on you deserve it!
The band launch the album with a show at the 13th Note in Glasgow this coming Thursday (18th), supporting them on the evening will be Le Reno Amps and Deathpodal.

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Fresh Meat Monday - The Plimptons

Would you care to introduce yourself?

I’m Martin. I’ve played guitar in the Plimptons for 11 years. I sometimes sing too. I’m a spritely 27 years of age but look older due to my 70s sportsman style configuration of facial hair. I’m from Motherwell.


How would you describe the music you make?

DIY Pop. Hopefully it’s varied and energetic. Its definitely upbeat for the most part. A stranger once described us as ‘They Might Be Giants meets The Fall’ which was a huge compliment that I’d like to think is at least a bit accurate.


How did you start out making music?

I went to the same school as Adam, our singer, but didn’t really know him as he was a few years older. In 1999 I met him while walking the dog and we got into a conversation about the Smiths and the Ramones and it came up that we could both play guitar a bit. At first we tried to form a Smiths covers band, drastically underestimating how hard the songs would be to play. We soon gave up and started writing our own songs, about 3 weeks later we did our first gig as a 2 piece. I think we did about 6 of our own songs, a cover of ‘Panic’ and a cover of Iron Maiden’s ‘Run to the Hills’. The set probably lasted about 12 minutes. Since then we’ve expanded to a 6 piece and have been steadily releasing albums and EPs. For a while Adam and I were the only constant members but the current line up came together a few years ago and has remained intact. We now permanently feature 2 of The Martial Arts and 1 each from Los Destructos and A Junkmans Choir.


What process goes into the way you write songs?

Adam and I just sit down with guitars and bounce ideas off each other, sometimes the songs are mostly him and sometimes they’re mostly me but they’re all co-writes to some degree. Once we get the bare bones we’ll take it to the other guys in the band and everyone adds their own bits.


What can people expect from your live shows?

We always try and add a strong visual element to the live shows, especially Adam as a front man who always has different props going on. I usually miss this stuff because I’m trying to face the front and play. Occasionally I’ll see pictures of us playing and Adam will be wearing a gorilla mask and waving about a Genesis LP or something. Other than that, we’re a lot faster live than on record, which just kind of happens. Think it’s fair to say our punkier leanings come to the fore when we’re playing live.


What are you all listening to at the moment?

We’re all kind of into different things, but I suppose the common ground we all have is Old School Punk, 60s Pop and New Wave. Personally, right now I’m really enjoying the latest album by The Murderburgers a great local punk band who we’ve played with a few times, its just full of great pop songs. The new Devo album is great too.


What can we expect to see/hear from you in the near future?

We’re just about to self release our 3rd full length album, “00s Nostalgia with The Plimptons”, which took us 2 years to record. We’re doing some gigs leading up to the album launch which is at Nice N Sleazy on November 20th. We’ve decided to include a copy of the album with the £6 entry fee, to make it more of an occasion.

The Plimptons - Drink Y'self Sober

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The Sexual Objects - 6Music Session (11/11/10)

Track Listing
1. Queen City Of The Fourth Dimension
2. Culture Supervisor
3. Soon Soon Soon (Kevin Ayers cover)

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Weekly Round Up (11/14/10)

Monday - the week kicked off in style with some Fresh Meat action from the Lost Generation
Tuesday - Broken Records recorded an amazing wee session for 6Music,
Wednesday - Esperi charmed us all with his gorgeous tunes, he also became the 41st entry into the Scots Way-Hay club
Thursday - Edwyn Collins was in doing a wee session for 6Music
Friday - this weeks Freebies was slightly delayed due to the Tea Party the night before, it was worth the wait though as there some class tunes from Ash, Telekenisis!, Esperi, Martin John Henry and Miss the Occupier
Saturday - Martin John Henry covering Tom Waits in We've Got It Covered


News, gigs and any other gubbins......


As I have been rushing about like a dafty this past week I am a bit behind on all things newsworthy. Thursdays Tea Party at the Hidden Lane Cafe took up a lot of my week, we had a few last minute near disasters. At one point Sean and myself were without a mixing desk and a PA and that was less than 24 hours until the gig was due to take place. Thankfully though Boab from Campfires stepped in at the last minute to save the day.
In the end it turned into a really special evening, Burnt Island and Ghost Pants were both awesome. Sean has already shown me a couple of the recordings and they sound so so good, I honestly can't to share them with you all. I am trying not to mention too much about it just now for fear of repeating myself when it comes round to actually posting the sessions. So I am going to stop talking about the sessions and instead I am going to start raving on about what could quite possibly be the most exciting project I have ever been involved in.
Yes tomorrow ladies and gents, is the big launch day of Olive Grove Records. For those of you who don't already know, myself and the lovely Halina Rifai, from Glasgow Podcart have teamed up to form our own wee record label. Our aim is to support local talent to the best of our abilities, with all profits (if we make any) going directly to the artist. Yes, you read that right. We are indeed going to work our backsides off for nothing purely to support some great artists that we believe deserve your attention.

Our first release is due out tomorrow, as in Monday tomorrow. Scary McBeans! If you didn't already know it's going to be Randolph's Leap's new EP 'Battleships and Kettle Chips' and it's an absolute corker. You don't have to take my word for it, check out this review from today's Sunday Herald....

You can imagine the reaction in the Peenko household after I read that, yes there was squealing and tears and even a little poop, and that's without taking Erin (Peenko Jnr) into consideration.
In short I was pretty fucking pleased! So as of tomorrow it's time for us to step out in the big bad world, the only thing I can compare it to is that feeling that your parents had when they first send a child to school. It's not that I don't think they'll fit in and make friends, I am just nervous and excited. I really just want to see them do as well as I think they can.

The release isn't officially due out until tomorrow, but we thought we'd give you all a chance to have a listen and make your own mind up by posting this Bandcamp link.
I should point out that there are only 100 CD's, which were all handmade. I can vouch for this as it was me that sat and glued them all together, which took a lot longer than you'd think.
There is also a Sooper Dooper package on offer too, which includes the EP, a hand knitted woolen sleeve, a frisbee, a tote bag and a t-shirt. There are only ten of these on offer, so if you want you'll have to be quick.

Randolph's Leap launch the EP with a special celebratory gig at the Captains Rest on Thursday coming. The gig itself is free, with support from Inspector Tapehead and Blochestra. It is going to be quite a night for all of us, so it would be great to see some familiar faces coming along for the evening. If you are planning on coming along, make sure you get there nice and early to avoid disappointment

Before I go, I should also point out that the Olive Grove Records website will officially launch tomorrow morning, so keep your eyes peeled for it launching, i.e. watch me and Halina getting very over excited on our own sites, twitter and facebook.

Stick with us, it's going to be one hell of a ride!