Sunday Round Up...

Holy fuck a McMoly, time certainly does fly in doesn't! Was it really way back in May that we announced that myself and Ayetunes were going to putting on another one of our 'leg-end-ary' gigs together. I guess that time has a certain way of creeping up on you, as in less than a week away we'll be taking over Stereo for our fourth 'vs' gig and desperately pretending that we're proper promoters and that we know what we're doing (usually the bands see us right!).
In case you'd forgotten the line up it looks something like this Mondegreen, Miaoux Miaoux, PAWS and Adam Stafford - whose been daft enough to let us use this as his album launch.
If you haven't heard any of the bands before, then trust me they're all fucking great, but then again I would think that as we chose them.
I will warn you in advance there will be more shameless plugging of the gig throughout this week, so don't start moaning if I start to repeat myself, I'm just a little bit excited that's all.
If you get the chance make sure you tune into Vic Galloway's Radio Scotland show tomorrow night as Adam Stafford is in doing a wee session, which I am really looking forward to.
If you fancy booking your tickets in advance then you can buy them online here or you could always head down to Ticket Scotland as I think they had a handful left. Either way it'd be great to see some of you coming along for what should be a great night of music, plus there may also be sweets and hugs, but don't let that put you off.

Another gig that I am involved with is the launch of The Moth & The Mirror's first single on Olive Grove Records, 'Germany'. The gig is on Friday the 2nd of September, so get it noted in your diary/smart phone. It's only £5 plus there will be three cracking support bands, Amber Wilson, Blood Blood and I Build Collapsible Mountains. The Moth & The Mirror's song 'Lights in the sky' is still available to download for free on their Bandcamp page.

On Friday coming, Song By Toad is putting on the second of his 'Toad at the Circus' gigs at the funnily enough the Electric Circus in Edinburgh. This week he has our very own Randolph's Leap, Amber Wilson and Matthew Healy (from Awe), it's only £5 to get in and it all kicks off at half seven. Without wanting to sound like I am bowing smoke up their arse, Randolph's Leap now have the added bonus of having a brass section which makes them even more enjoyable to watch, yeah I know what you're thinking 'is that really possible?', but trust me it's fucking awesome, or at least it was at Wickerman. Plus Amber and Matthew are both fucking great, if we weren't doing AvP the next day I would have gone for this for certain (I'm using my one weekly pass for out gig). Aye so go, it will be dead good...

If you can't make it to our AvP gig next Saturday (20th) and you reside in Edinburgh, then you might want to get yourself along to Pilrig Church, where Oxjam are putting on one of their takeover gigs featuring The Last Battle, Sebastian Dangerfield and Letters. Tickets for the gig are available from online here or you could get your backside down to Avalanche and get them for just £5, otherwise it's £7 on the door, plus it's BYOB, nice. Further information can be found on Facebook.

45/R are putting a cracking wee gig on Sunday the 28th of August at the Captain's Rest in Glasgow, featuring Dundee legends Avast! (feat. members of Stapleton) who have reformed and are playing Glasgow for the first time in many many years. Support on the evening comes from the excellent Happy Particles and GRNR (Gav from Findo Gask's solo project). Tickets for the gig can be bought in advance via the following link.

On the Friday the 26th, Pin Up Nights have James and Doc from the Twilight Sad joining them on the decks at the Flying Duck. Plus there will also be live sets from electronic act Machines in Heaven, "purveyor of beats" Oh You Dancer and the pleasingly Sonic Youth-sound-a-likes Ev.


One of my favourite local bands, French Wives have been busy in the studio recording their debut album, which is due out on Electric Honey Records next year. They've just completed tracking the album, so to celebrate they're putting on an intimate wee gig in Glasgow at the 13th Note on the 4th of September. Support on the evening comes from Shields from Newcastle and Perthshire outift, Poor Things. Tickets are for the gig are only £5 on the door, you might want to make sure you get down nice and early to this one as it should be pretty rammed.

After giving away new song 'Act On Impulse', We Were Promised Jetpacks have provided us with another wee taster of what to expect from their forthcoming album, by posting up their new single 'Medicine' to stream on Souncloud. The band are also going to be playing live on Ally McCrae's BBC Introducing show on Radio 1 live from The Bongo Club in Edinburgh on September 4th. Joining them on the evening will be Profisee, Bwani Junction and Hostage, there were some free tickets for the gig up for grabs here, but I am guessing that by the time that this goes up they'll be well gone.


Right we'll wrap this wee ramble up and leave you with this odd as fuck video from Lady North, who's split single with PAWS came out on Monday there through Gerry Loves Records

Lady North - "It's All About Gettin' That Claude Monet" from Gerry Loves on Vimeo.

Weekly Round Up (26/09/10)

Monday - the week got kicked off in style with some Fresh Meat action from So Many Animal Calls

Tuesday - Kid Canaveral were in session on Vic's show on Monday night, fecking class it was too. If you didn't catch it, check out their take on King Creosote's 'Missionary', quite possibly the best cover I have heard all year. Too Many Fireworks also told us a bit about their imminent relaunch as my 6th DIY label. As if that wasn't enough there was also a recording of Edwyn Collins 6Music session.
Wednesday - all the way from the Isle of Lewis, Iglue became the 34th member of the Scots Way-Hay club
Thursday - The fabulous Recovery Club did a wee session for the Vicmeister, I also had cracking wee label Chaffinch Records telling us a bit about themselves as my 7th DIY label.
Friday - Friday Freebies was full of loads of treats this week, including tracks from Frabbit, Stars and a free album from White Denim. There was also a session from Erland and the Carnival
Saturday - Teenage Fanclub took on Madonna in We've Got It Covered


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



Next Friday and Saturday (1st & 2nd), sees the launch of inaugural Glasgow music festival Eastern Promise. Held at Platform in Easterhouse, the festival aims to highlight the best and most interesting music from the UK and beyond. On the 1st of October they have German and American pianists Nils Frahm, Rachel Grimes, American singer, Josephine Foste with guitarist Victor Herrero and live band, and as if that wasn't enough Wounded Knee will kicking the evening off. The Saturday night is even more exciting, with King Creosote, Human Don't Be Angry (Malcolm Middleton), RM Hubbert and FOUND making up the bill. Tickets for each night at £10, or £15 for both nights, buses will also be running from outside Mono. Further details can be found here.

This coming Thursday at Stereo in Glasgow, 45 A-Side Records are hosting the Launch Night for The Glad Café Fundraiser Scottish compilation album. In case you didn't already know, The Glad Café is a new venture being set up in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow. It will host a 50 cover restaurant/café and a 200 capacity arts venue finally providing the south side arts community. The album, which is released on the 4th of October, is a 13-track compilation feaurting Barn Owl, Song Of Return, Olympic Swimmers, Conquering Animal Sound, Field Mouse, Dam Mantle, The Japanese War Effort, Fox Gut Daata, Yahweh, Debutant, Admiral Fallow, The Seventeenth Century and The Moth And The Mirror.
The launch at Stereo will feature live sets from Barn Owl, Conquering Animal Sound, Song Of Return and Dam Mantle, plus there will also be a DJ set from Detour-Scotland. Advanced tickets for the show are available here for just four pounds and pre-orders for the album are available on their Bandcamp.


I know that I normally save Fridays for any free downloads that I have come across that week, but this little number from Peenko favourites, French Wives, was too good not to mention. Tomorrow (the 27th), they are posting up new song, 'Welcome, in the night', and you can get your hands on it for absolutely nothing. Just head on over to their Myspace on Monday and you'll find details on how to get your grubby little mitts on a copy. The band also have a couple of gigs lined up this week, on Friday night they'll be at The HAC in Irvine, followed by a headlining showing at Stereo in Glasgow on the Saturday, with support from Male Pattern Band.
As a wee teaser, you can stream 'Welcome, in the night' below...

Welcome, in the light by frenchwives



The Scottish Enlightenment officially release their 'Little Sleep' EP tomorrow, although it actually went on sale yesterday. You can have a wee listen to it below, personally I think it's superb, it might not be as immediate as their last EP, trust me it relly grows on you. The bands debut album, ‘St. Thomas’ is set to follow in November, personally I can't wait to hear it.

Now a days my Sunday afternoons are filled with walks in the park and meeting other friends with babies. If they weren't taken up by these things then I'd be spending this afternoon down at Stereo checking out the latest Hazy Recollections gig. Running from 2pm through till 6, their usual host Findlay Napier has a whole host of bands from the local folk and indie scene. Featuring, Jo Mango Damon Valentine Calum MacCrimmon's- Mans Ruin Findlay Napier and the Bar Room Mountaineers ... and a very special guest (word on the street is that it's Roddy Hart)….. Tickets are £7 or £5 concession, it certainly beats pushing a pram round the park ;)

Tonight (26th) at the Flying Duck, Slow Club returns with it's very own mini festival, featuring music and films. If you fancy an ambient Sunday night then head along to the Duck's kitchen bar, where you will be treated to the following live acts with a backdrop of avant-garde movies;

WOUNDED KNEE
LOWLAND HILLS (Joe Quimby and Jer Reid)
SMACKVANNOMA (playing to his own films)
HELHESTEN
THEAPPLESOFENERGY
More details can be found here.


Lastly, here's a cracking wee video from those lovely Mitchell Museum boys....

Mitchell Museum: 'Tiger Heartbeat' 8-bit Extended Directors Cut from mitchell museum on Vimeo.

Scottish DIY Labels #3 - 45 A-Side Records

Would you care to introduce yourself?

Well I'm Sam and i co-started 45 A-Side Records back in the late summer of 2007 roughly. I also do some work for the band Barn Owl as well as a lot of recording/mixing/mastering and FOH sound.


What inspired you to start your own label?

The idea was conceived to start 45 A-Side during a conversation after a gig I'd put on at the 13th Note. This conversation was largely based around a love of old fashioned music formats and a bit of a dour outlook on the way the digital market was increasing.


Who do you have signed to your label?

This is where we get found out. We don't technically have any signed artists on the label. Our first and technically (not for long) only release was a 16 track cassette compilation that featured bands from all over the UK. This worked on the basis that bands gave us tracks to use and they kept all their own copyright. I don't want to own the copyright to somebody else's songs, that just isn't right. Anyway, that first release featured several bands who are doing well right like Copy Haho, Twin Atlantic and The Xcerts. It also features several bands who unfortunately no longer play music...Hyena, Juliet Kilo, PVH ect. I actually counted today that i have 11 copies left sitting in my flat, so if anybody wants a copy let me know.


Being based in Scotland do you only sign Scottish artists?

Nah, i would never look at it this way. It's more about do i feel passionately enough about a band to the point where i feel i can do them justice in a release and also will it be financially viable. Saying this though, i tend to get more involved with Scottish arts just because it's where i am based and its where my strongest knowledge lies.


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

This is a hobby really. I can't really see a DIY label being able to make a living for a person. It is possible but I'm a long way from doing that. I certainly am working more at this now and have plans to expand especially as Ii graduate from university soon and have to start thinking about life a bit more. Robert Raths at Erased Tape is a great example of what can be achieved by an independent.


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

No, I've got no real prejudices really when it comes to music. Obviously I've got styles that I don't like but generally i can get into most things. The release I'm working on at the moment has got such variation, as did the original cassette release.


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

The decision process really comes from a love of an artists music. It's as simple as that. When it comes to approaching them there are a bunch of ways I've gone about it. This can include e-mails to people you've never met before or quite often it's people you know from being around Glasgow.


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

Well as the release side of the label took a bit of a dive, the promotion side really pushed up. I've put on a whole host of my favourite bands and i am really lucky to have done so. I guess a personal highlight would definitely have to be when i put Meursault/Brother Louis Collective/Barn Owl/Olympic Swimmers on at the 13th Note last year. Sometimes i feel like i don't think i can do any better than that.


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

Don't look at mine as an influence! Basically just do it. If you are in it for the love and not the money then the music world is lucky to have you. Pride yourself on your ethics and don't go out there looking to make a quick buck. You won't make many friends doing that.


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

Well it was fairly convenient that this interview appeared in my inbox just as i am finishing off a release. It's currently 4:50am and im listening to what i was hoping to be the final PQ edit of my new release, unfortunately i've got a couple of things to change. I'm going to keep this release quiet for the meantime but all i can say is that you can expect a nice wee Peenko feature on it in due course. Keep the 30th of September free for what is shaping up to be something really special. I've also got Meursault/Olympic Swimmers and Happy Particles playing Stereo on the 6th of November so you should get involved with that. Tickets can be found here and the tickets are printed on recycled brown paper! Lovely stuff.


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