Friday Freebies

Randolph's Leap
What would you do if a total stranger started slagging your band off on the internet, well if you're Adam Ross from Randolph's Leap, you'd write them a song. Obviously. You can download 'Brian' for free over on their SoundCloud page.

  Brian by Randolph's Leap

Robin Adams
The new single by Glasgow-based songwriter Robin Adamstruly is a joy to behold. Available on download only, ‘Sun Behind The Storm’, isn't technically a freebie as it's up as one of those ‘name your price’ deals on his Bandcamp page. Whether you want to pay anything is your call, give it a listen and make your own mind up.



Poor Things
Perthshire indie pop starlets, Poor Things have posted up their new single, 'Miss World Contemplates...' as a free download on their SoundCloud page. Fans of the French Wives take note, as this should be right up your street.

  Miss World Contemplates... by POOR THINGS

Homework
Ahead of the release of their forthcoming debut album, Edinburgh electro experimentalists, Homework are giving away their new single 'Thoughts' as a free download on Bandcamp.The band are also going to playing a showcase gig on Thursday the 12th of April at Sneaky Petes in Edinburgh as part of this years Wide Days. The gig is free, however, in order to gain entry you need to sign up in advance for tickets which you can do by the following this link


.
The Mouse That Ate The Cat
Glasgow based electro-pop outift TMATC are out on tour this week in support of their free downloadable track 'Like Lightbulbs'. The duo which are comprised of Brian Henderson (former lead singer of The Dykeenies) and Colin Keenan (formerly of Drive-By Argument) are playing at King Tuts tomorrow night with support from Seed, Digital Jones and Farewell Singapore. Following that you can cath them on the 10th at PJ Molloys in Dunfermline, the 12th at Cafe Drummonds in Aberdeen, the 15th Mad Hatters in Inverness and then at the end of the month they're playing at the Rock The Broath two day festival in Arbroath on the 28th. Further details on all of these gigs and ticket links can be found here.



Rachel Sermanni
In anticipation of the release of her new single, Eggshells, the very talented Rachel Sermanni is giving away a free download of an acoustic version of the song in exchange for your email address.

Bear Arms
According to the the Chinese zodiac, 2012 is The Year of the Dragon. I guess Scotland didn't get the memo, as our bands are coming out in force to show their love for the Bear. Off the top of my head we have Behold The Old Bear, Brown Bear & The Bandits, As In Bear (RIP) and Bear Bones, and now we have another addition to our grizzly sloth we can add Glasgow alt-rock outfit Bear Arms. The four piece are currently giving away their single 'Towers' as a free download on their Bandcamp page.




Thula Borah
If you like your post-rock, then you might want to check out the recent Live Secretly EP from Glasgow outfit, Thula Borah. The EP which was recorded by Andy Miller (Mogwai, Arab Strap, De Rosa ) at Gargleblast Studios is free to download from their Bandcamp page.






CS Buchan
If you're looking for something a little less 'rocky', then CS Buchan might just be for you. The Aberdeen based singer-songwriter has posted up a couple of songs from a split EP that he released with Kitchen Cynics, on a pay what you want basis on his Bandcamp page. Fans of Nick Drake and things of a gentler persuasion take note this might just be the gentle soundtrack you were looking for the start of you Easter weekend.



Esperi
Scottish multi-instrumentalist Chris Lee-Marr, aka Esperi is out on tour around Scotland at the moment, calling at Aberdeen on Saturday night, then he'll be through in Glasgow next Sunday (15th) at Pivo Pivo. As wee gift to the world he's posted up his new song 'the countryside, no city dust here' as a free download on his SoundCloud page.

   the countryside,no city dust here by Esperi

Dogs Got A Bone Compilation
The second compilation from the Dogs Got A Bone radio show has been posted up on Bandcamp as a free download. Featuring Dead Star Sonics, My Electric Love Affair, The Murlocs, Mummy Short Arms, Confusion, Colonel Mustard & The Dijon 5, Frantic Chant, Shambles Miller, Kick To Kill, The Girobabies, Spaceface, Missing Cat, Blasfima Sinna, Delta Mainline, The Cat That Walks Alone and Un.Real. Download it for free here.



 I Am Home Alone
Another free-to-download compilation that's up for grabs comes from Aberdonian promoters, Home Alone  who care giving away a series of free downloads from some of the best bands that the the north-east of Scotland has to offer including, The Little Kicks, Marionettes and JJ Bull.






Drunk Mule
To finish off this week freebies we have yet another free tune from those prolific Drunk Mule boys, I don't know how these boys keep churning out cracking wee songs like this, but they do. Get your hands on their latest offering Love That Sound for free on Bandcamp.

Gigs, News and Sunday night blues

I am going to start this post by apologising to anyone who might be waiting for a reply email from me. Normally I am pretty on top of my inbox, but this weekend I have succumbed to the dreaded man flu, so much of today has been spent lying on the couch feeling sorry for myself. It's pretty safe t say that today hasn't been the best of days. Thanks to me overdosing on Lemsip I have 'manned up' and will stop moaning so I can get this post done. I did say recently that there would be some random gig/new posts cropping up every so often, so being true to my word here's some news and a few good gigs coming your way over the next month or so...


First up we have a wee shindig being put on at the Captains Rest at the end of the month featuring the pop-tastic Endor, Olive Grove's very own Randolph's Leap & Esperi, plus Amber Wilson, who I have heard a lot of good things about but have yet to see her live. The gig is being put on as a VS night by Pelmet Nights and Gathering Whispers, if past performances are anything to go by this should be a great evening.

If you're in a band and you're thinking about applying to play at this years goNorth Festival and you haven't already done so, then you best get your finger out as submissions close at the end of this week. I know I have raved about this event before, but it really was great fun for me last year, I learned a lot, drank far too much and I even got to meet Mimi from Shameless. By meet I of course mean 'saw', as she was signing autographs in Poundland, classy as fuck.



Promoters, No Dancing are continuing to step away from the norm and bring together an array of amazing bands that you wouldn't normally see on the same bill. Last time round they had Bronto Skylift and Withered Hand. This time round they've brought together Peenko favourites The Scottish Enlightenment, Miaoux Miaoux and Male Pattern Band for a cracking evening of music. It takes place on Saturday 9th of April at The Admiral Bar and it's only £5, bargain.

It's been a while since I mentioned Pin Up Nights, so I thought it was about time that I gave the night a wee plug. This coming Friday they've lined up some stellar bands in Milk, Sonic Hearts Foundation and Galleries, plus there will be all the usual shenanigans that makes the night so much fun. Find out more over on their homepage, also if you've got a minute check out their fanzine which is always a pretty good read.


The fabulous Washington Irving make a welcome return next month with the release of their new single 'Abbey Gallop'. Out on the 25th of April, the band are heading off on a massive UK tour to support the release of the single, this includes a number of Scottish dates this April:

2nd Edinburgh - Sneaky Petes
5th Glasgow - Captains Rest
6th Dundee - Dexters
7th Aberdeen - Snafu
8th Stornoway - Jager Rooms
9th Inverness - Coel Mor
10th Aviemore - Old Bridge Inn
26th Glasgow - Love Music in store
28th Communion Glasgow Launch @ Stereo

You can stream a live version of the B-side to the single, French Leave below.

French Leave - Live session on Radio 1 by Washington Irving

Continuing on from Fridays video post, the awesome Detour boys have continued to post up their video diaries, make sure you check out this wee video of Withered Hand, Kid Canaveral, Errors, Twin Atlantic, Admiral Fallow and The Twilight Sad. They also made this mind blowingly good video that I'd urge to check out...

Edinburgh outfit, Scrap Brain who caused a bit of a controversy a few months back when they aired their opinions on the 'anti-folk' scene in their home town. There's nothing like a good bit of contention to get yourself noticed, so with the grunge-punk trio set to release their debut single, ‘Nal’, at a launch gig on Friday 8th April it's going to be pretty interesting to see what kind of reception they get. The gig takes place at Maggies Chamber, with support from the much lauded Lady North, Jump: Press A and Art of Privilege.
The single was recorded at Verden Studios and is being promoted by New Found Sound as part of the band’s development deal awarded to them for being judged the best band of the 2010 ‘Friday Night Live at Frankenstein’s’ competition. Tickets for the gig are available in advance for £3 from TicketWeb or from Scrap Brain, and will be available on the door for £5. Doors for the gig open at 7:30pm. I wonder how many folkies will make it along...

Lastly, a small group of undergraduate students from Heriot-Watt’s Scottish Borders Campus are organising a music event in Edinburgh to raise money for MS Society Scotland.

The band night entitled ‘Gig for MS’ will showcase three up-and-coming Scottish bands from both the Edinburgh and Glasgow music scene: ‘My Tiny Robots’, ‘Ghost Ride the Whip’ and ‘Chris Hunter’, with a DJ playing until late. The night will be held at Edinburgh’s ‘Electric Circus’ located at 36 Market Street - on Wednesday the 6th of April 2011. Doors will open at 7.30pm with tickets being sold on the door at £5 each. All proceeds will be donated to MS Society Scotland. Further details can be found here.

Esperi - Fresh Air Session (28/02/11)

Track Listing

1. Breaking Things
2. Lone Wolf
3. Where The Crows Nest

Download

Friday Freebies

Letters
Edinburgh band Letters, have developed a bit of a buzz about themselves lately, with an array of Scottish bloggers already tipping them for big things. Kudos has to go out to Kowalskiy for being the first one to pick up on them. Personally, I think they sound like they have potential but I am not getting overly carried away, not yet at least. They've just release their new double a sided single ‘Grand National/Pipe Dreams’ as a free download. If you want to see if the hype is justified then you can make your own mind up by grabbing a copy here.

Male Pattern Band
If you're going along to see the French Wives tomorrow night in Edinburgh, then make sure you get down nice and early as the awesome Male Pattern Band are supporting. They're also supporting PAWS at their EP launch next month and as if that wasn't enough they've made their Summer Sampler CD-R available to download for free.

Maple Leaves
If you like your indie-pop with a touch of twee then you're going to love Maple Leaves, the Glasgow trio have just made their 'Threads EP' available for free download. Rather lovely it is too.

Kowalskiy
As I've already mentioned, our former Komplimentary Korner star has been pretty on the ball as of late. Not only has he been uncovering an array of talent that a lot us bloggers have completely missed, but he's been busy organising his eighth Free Monthly EP. This month he has an absolute corker up his sleeve, he's roped in some new up and coming stars in Wrongnote, I See Horses and Josef Llama, on top of that he's got exclusive tracks from the amazing Call To Mind, plus a hidden gem for Olive Groves very own, The Son(s). Hats off to the doc for his great work, you can download the EP on his Bandcamp.

Esperi
Our very own Olive Grove starlet, Esperi has just posted his new single 'My Tear Dissolved The View' up for free download on his Bandcamp. There's an awesome wee video to acompany it, which you can watch here.

French Wives
If you missed any of the French Wives series of 'Homefires' freebies then you're in luck as they've put all of the tracks up on their Bandcamp to download for a limited time.

Yeasayer
As a wee Valentines gift Yeasayer are giving away their 'I Remember' EP as a free download, get it here.

Panda Bear
Stereogum have a free download of new Panda Bear track 'Last Night At The Jetty' available for free download

Dam Mantle
If you sign up to his mailing list then he'll send a free download of his song 'Theatre', that kids is one awesome deal, dae it.

Moby
Blimey, I thought Moby had given up the ghost ages ago, I guess all the goes to show is that I clearly don't know what the fuck I am talking about. Then again I am sure you knew that ages ago. He's got a new EP called 'Be The One' and it's free to download here.

SXSW
In a months time pretty much anyone who's anyone will be descending upon Austin, Texas for this years SXSW festival. Sadly, I'm not 'anyone' so I will be staying in sunny Scotland, there will however, be an array of amazing talent from our wee nation heading over to showcase quite how amazing our music scene is. In fact there are shit loads of bands going over and you can download tracks form every single band by downloading this torrent which is a massive 4.49GB. Get it here.

Bear Driver
Talking of SXSW, Peenko favourites Bear Driver will be heading over too, I know they're not Scottish but I really think this band are pretty fucking awesome. In the build up to their big adventure the band are giving some freebies, this week they've made their track 'Enemy' available for free download.

Bloodhouse
There's a whole load of lo-fi scuzzy pop available to download for nowt courtesy of Bloodhouse, it'll leave your ears ringing for days, in a good way. Get it from their Bandcamp.

The Clyde
This freebie comes courtesy of my blogger mate Favourite Son who pointed out that The Clyde have a couple of free downloads on their Facebook. Nice work that man.

Sun Dogs
Traffic Cone Records newest signings have made their son 'Drip Effect' available on Soundcloud for a free download.

tUnE-yArDs
tUnE-yArDs are giving away free MP3 'Bizness', download the it here

John Vanderslice
The San Franciscan indie stalwart has a free download of his song 'Convict Lake' available here.

Strawberry Ocean Sea
The Scottish outfit who note their influences as being the Arcade Fire, Echo and the Bunnymen and early U2, have 3 tracks available for free download on their homepage.

The Belle Hops
Spme of you might remember that this indie pop outfit gave away a cracking we Christmas tune back last year, now they've just made their new EP available for free download.

Rodrigo y Gabriela
Give them your email address and they'll let you download their song 'Triveni' for free.

Peter Bjorn & John
RCRD LBL have a free download of 'Breaker Breaker' up for grabs here.

Friday Freebies

The Son(s)
In case you missed our big Olive Grove announcement last week, we're going to be releasing their debut album in March. As a wee teaser of what you can expect from the album, you can now download a new version of 'Dogs, Boys & Men' over on Soundcloud. I genuinely think we have one of the albums of 2011, if you don't believe me, then go and give the song a listen. You won't regret it.

Bright Eyes
If like me you were one of the unlucky few that didn't manage to buy tickets for Conor Oberst and co at Oran Mor, then you can console yourself with this free download of his new track "Haile Selassie" (via Pitchfork).

The Last Battle
This freebie was originally pencilled in to go up at the start of the year, the only downfall was that the band went and got so popular that they ran out of free downloads to offer. I guess they must have shifted a few more albums as they've posted their new year treat/single, '365 Days' up for you all to download for nowt. What a luverly bunch they are.

Esperi
Not one, but two freebies from our Olive Grove stable in one post, god we really do spoil you lot.
If you sign up to Esperi's mailing list you will get a track from his forthcoming album.

Zefs Chasing Cara
On Wednesday I had the last of my series of Ones To Watch in 2011 posts with an interview with the amazing 'Finn Le Marinel'. If you'd were paying attention then you might well have noticed that he suggested an array of artists that we check out, one of which was Zefs Chasing Cara. If you head over to their Myspace you'll find a couple of EPs for free download.

Vasquez
This freebie was supposed to go up last week, but somehow I must have missed it in my bookmarks. Thankfully though it wasn't lost for good, so here it is in all of it's glory it's a free download of the latest EP from the Edinburgh post-rock outfit.

Penguins Kill Polar Bears
I still haven't quite made my mind up about whether or not this one of the worst or best band names on the go at the moment. Either way the Edinburgh rock outfit certainly seem to be making some pretty massive waves in their homeland. Their song 'Lungs' is free for you to download here.

FOUND
Not long now until the amazing new album from FOUND, their album launch shows look set to sell out pretty soon. So if you haven't already bought yours, then I would suggest you get that sorted as soon as. As for this weeks freebie, I've not a clue what it will be, it'll be good that's all I can tell you for certain. Download it here.

Japandroids
Featured as one the influential Seattle Radio Station, KEXP's 'song of the day', the Vancouver outfits song 'Heavenward Grand Prix' for free here.

Oh! Canada
We love Line of Best Fit, so we do. We also love their regular compilations that they put out showcasing an array of amazing talent from Canada. They're now on to their 14th Volume, a wee corker it is too, download it here.

Dave Hughes
'This was supposed to be a Hogmanay Single, but things happened and this got delayed. So, instead, I'm putting it up here as a free download. Two tracks, a band demo of The Replacement and a B-side of an older track called Midnight Walks. Download it here.

French Wives
Carrying on with their theme of a giving away one of their B-sides every week, the amazing French Wives have posted up a free download of 'Hyndland Weather Bear' in the tenth of their Homefires freebies. The song originally featured on their Me vs. Me single which was released in June of last year. Download it for free here.

BRONZE
This is the new band from Ian Menard and Charlie Davis, formerly of Detachment Kit (French Kiss Records.)Based in Brooklyn NY, they've just made their debut EP available to download for free.

People, Places, Maps...
I am not going to say too much about these guys as they will be featuring as one of my Fresh Meat bands in a few weeks time. All you need to know for now is that their self-titled single is free to download here.

Feelies
It's been a long time since we've heard anything from New Jersey postpunk, the Feelies. Their last album 'Time for a Witness' came out way back in 1991. Now they're making a return and they've made new song 'Should Be Gone' available to download (via Pitchfork).

My Satellite Music
Free download of the first single Mirrors of the new Depths EP.

Sun Dogs
This freebie tip off comes courtesy of our friend over at Traffic Cone Musi, who pointed me in the direction of this free download of Sun Dogs track 'Miwersa'

A Torn Mind
Livingston prog rock band, A Torn Mind, have made their new single 'Mindless Obsessions' available to download for free.

Weekly Round Up (19/12/10)

Monday - Alongside this weeks Fresh Meat starlets, Rose Parade, there was the big announcement that the National had been voted as this years winners of the second ever Scottish BAMS award.
Tuesday - our good friend Brian shared with us a session that Loch Awe recorded for his show on Fresh Air
Wednesday - Part 2 of my artists albums of the year, including selections from A Band Called Quinn, Burnt Island, Come on Gang!, RM Hubbert and the Last Battle
Thursday - there were sessions from Yusuf Azak, Sparrow and the Workshop and Erland & the Carnival. There was also a wee mention of my five minutes of fame...
Friday - Belle and Sebastian in session for Marc Riley, plus an epic Friday Freebies with tunes from Call To Mind, Zoey Van Goey and Seafieldroad all up for grabs
Saturday - continuing on with my festive covers, I had Arab Strap's take on Xmas (Baby Please Come Home) in We've Got It Covered


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

Tonight at Sleazys Electra French are having their very own Christmas Party, with Mitchell Musuem, The Seventeenth Century and Fur Hood. It all kicks off at 8pm tonight, through until 3am, it's only £4 and you get a free Mitchell Museum chucked in there too. If you're quick off the mark then you might still be able to pre-order tickets through Electra French's Bandcamp page.



If you're free in Glasgow on Wednesday night and looking for something awesome to do, then get yourself down to the 13th Note. As a wee thanks to everyone who has shown us so much support in the last few months, myself and Halina are going to be hosting our very own Olive Grove Christmas Party. After the success that we've had with the Randolph's Leap EP and more recently with Esperi's 'Snowman' single, we felt that it would be pretty fitting to have our very own wee shindig. So on Wednesday, Randolph's Leap and Esperi will be joined by the 61st Hottest person in Scotland, the wonderful RM Hubbert.
We'll also have a selection of backed goods on sale, plus the lovely 'I Heart...' will have her own wee stall set up for you to do some last minute Christmas shopping.

All of this and I haven't even mentioned that this is a free gig, it would be great to see some familiar and some unfamiliar faces down for the evening. It's going to be an amazing night!

Friday Freebies

Amazon
For a limited time, the online retailer is giving away over 150 albums for free, a lot of is pish, but there are some cracking wee samplers to be found, including albums from Saddle Creek and tunes from The Morning Benders and Girls.

Define Pop EP
Our fellow blogger mate Kowalsikiy of Kompimentary Korner fame has knocked up a cracking free in celebration of tomorrow's Define Pop festival. If you want some free tracks from Tango in the Attic, Little Yellow Ukuleles, I Build Collapsible Mountains, Aspen Tide, So Many Animal Calls and Campfires in Winter, then look no further.

Esperi
On Wednesday I had Mr Esperi as my Scots Way-Hay starlet for the week, if you liked what you heard then check out this free download of his song 'Dialled'.

Ash
Mrs Peenko got to go and see these boys on Tuesday there, apparently it was amazing. I wouldn't know as I was on babysitting duties on my own for the first time. Thankfully we both lived to tell the tale. The band are set to play a big gig down in London Town, to celebrate they're giving away some tracks, one from them and one from each of their support acts, The Crimea and The Lines, get it here.

Telekenisis!
Their self titled debut album was one of my favourite releases of last year, a class find from the now defunct and sadly missed Planet Sound (the music page that was on Teletext). Anyway, the band are due to release their second album early next year, as a taster of what to expect you can download new track 'Car Crash' for free here.

Night Noise Team
The Edinburgh outfits new single, 'Burning' came out on Monday, keeping with the theme of continuing to surprise folk, the band seem to have shed their 'dance pop' sound and taken on a Joy Division-esq sound. It's up for download as one of those 'Name Your Price' deals, which you can download from their bandcamp. To celebrate it's release the band have made their two previous singles 'Menolick' and 'You Won' available to downloaded for free.

Martin John Henry
Our friend Mike up at Manic Pop Thrills celebrated his 500th blog post in style this week with a wee interview with former De Rosa front man, Martin John Henry. It's a cracking a wee read, which should check out (once you've finished on here that is). He also alerted me to a cracking free download of Martin's electro take on his former bands song ‘All Saints Day’, cleverly changed to 'All Saintz Dayz'.

Maxwell Panther
You might remember me posting about Maxwell Panther a while back, he's a Mackem and he's signed to Song By Toad Records. He was all celebrating a special occasion this week, I can't for the life of me remember what it was, birthday? Barmitzva? Whatever it was, he's decided to celebrate in style by putting all of his back catalogue up for free download.

Miss the Occupier
The female led punk trio and also Scots Way-Hay club members have already promised us that they'll be back with new tunes early next year, until then you can quench your thirst with this free download of new song 'All Day'

Zoobizaretta
Another Scots Way-Hay band that have posted up a free tune for your listening pleasure are the fabulous Zoobizaretta who have made their track 'Something New' available for free download.

Jonathan Sebastian Knight
The My Cousin I Bid You Farewell frontman has posted a couple of live recordings of him playing at Tchai-Ovna, get em here.

The Rock of Travolta
I hadn't heard of this band in years, I remember hearing a lot about them about 4 or 5 years ago, then nothing. That's possibly because I disappeared up my big Scottish arse. Anyway, they have a free tune up for grabs in exchange for your email address.

The Lost Generation
They kicked this week off as my Fresh Meat victims, if you liked what you heard or you missed the post then you can check them out now by downloading their tune 'Lose Your Love' for nowt here.

Darren Hayman
The former Hefner frontman has posted a free download of his song, 'When the King Enjoy's His Own Again ' which you can find here.

Cloud Nothings
There is a free download of their song 'Understand at All' over on the NME's website.

Murder Mystery
A very late addition to this weeks freebies comes from New York outfit, Murder Mystery, who have posted up their new single, 'Problems' up for free download. I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but they describe it as'Aphex Twin meets Madonna', sounds fucking mental to me.

Nouveaunoise
They have an EP called 'Panaka' available for free download on their Bandcamp.

Wildlife
Here's another band that got in touch to let me know that they have a wee freebie up for grabs, this one comes from Toronto outfit, Wildlife, who have three free songs on their Bandcamp.

Derek Webb
You can download his 'What Matters More' EP here.

Black International
There are a couple of tracks up for free download on their Bandcamp.

Pherranda Knightes
Download 5 Track EP Pherranda Knightes for free here.

North Atlantic Oscillation
I am not normally one to miss sessions, but their last session on the Beeb completely passed me by, thankfully though the are giving it away as a free download.

Scots Way-Hay #41 - Esperi

In case you haven't come across Esperi before then you are in for a treat this week, seriously how could you not love an artist that plasy bells with his feet whilst still strumming a guitar. I must admit that I am a fairly new convert to his music,my new partner in crime, Halina Rifai, is his manager, but it wasn't until a couple of months back when she sent over some tunes that I realised what the fuss was all about. I guess I should let you know at this point that myself and Halina will be releasing a Christmas single with Esperi on our new label Olive Grove Records. Actually our first release on the label, Randolph's Leap's 'Battleships & Kettle Chips' comes a week on Monday (15th). But being the nugget that I am, I decided to run a feature on our 'other artist'. I am not really one for following convention/logic.
Aye, so back to Mr Esperi, his music has an almost magical feel to it, at points it's almost other worldly, although his music doesn't necessarily sound too similar, but there is a certain element on Jonsi to what he does. Right, I think that's enough rambling from me for one week, here's Chris to tell you a bit more about himself and his music....

Would you care to introduce yourself?

Yeah for sure, my name is Chris Lee-Marr and I'm also known as Esperi which is my music project.

How would you describe the music you make?

Scottish folkish music, or glock and roll

How did you come together as a band?

I wanted to have a band without having to rely on others so I started a "solo" project with a full band in mind which gives me the freedom to bring in members for recording and shows if and when needed and also get by on my own when my band mates are busy. I've played with a lot of friends the last couple of years but the guys that have played the most in Esperi with me are Jon Adam 'vasquez' on drums, Kev Black 'laeto' on bass and Cat Lee-Marr 'starling' on harp and vox. I'm hoping to collaborate with new players as well, I've made lots of new friends through music and they are very talented musicians, its a great feeling playing music with others.

How did you start out making music?

Just by growing up and having an interest in music and naturally wanting to play, I taught myself guitar and started writing songs as soon as I had a few chords, then formed a few bands with friends. I didn't enjoy the music department in school, we were basically left in a room about 30 kids with keyboards and headphones learning wee tunes, just no inspiration at all from any teachers, but I'm really grateful that there was more going on outside of school and we had our first few gigs at about the age of 16 or 17 which meant we got lifts to out of town gigs with parents or older brothers, ah its bringing back memories.

What process goes into the way you write songs?

It depends really, a lot of time I spend with just guitar which is my first instrument and I go to the beach a lot and let the dogs run around and swim while I sit and play, or sometimes I set up lots of gear ( all sorts of stuff ) in the house and play around, I also keep my kalimba in my bag all the time in case I have a spare five minutes. I usually know how I want a song to sound before all the added accompaniment when its coming together, but sometimes I just see what happens. I've made demos of loads of music at home and then I head into the studio to record them, now and again I'll use some home recordings though.

Who are your big musical influences?
My favourite is music is by Owen, Mice Parade, Joanna Newsom, Sigur Ros and Jonsi, Bon Iver, S.Carey, Amina, Mum and Sufjan Stevens, I could go on forever haha but I think those are the influences that you might recognise in my style of playing and composition.

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

Haha the beach and scenery where I live definitely has an influence, not only in my lyrics but I spend a lot of time outdoors with my headphones on and its my favourite way of listening to music apart from live performance, so I think I try to write music that is good for beach walks and bike rides or that just sounds like an adventure or journey.

What can people expect to see/hear from your live shows?

Well, recently my shows have been solo performances based around guitar and voice and a host of tuned percussion, drums, toys and other bits and bobs, but the album that I'm currently working on features a fuller sound with a string quartet and an overall extra sonic weight going on in the songs so next year I'll be trying to bring more musicians to shows and maybe a bit of collaborating with friends time permitting

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

Yeah, there was a show with James Yorkston that I really enjoyed myself at and one recently with Olaf Arnalds was great, shows that just feel like there is a great bond with the audience.

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

The rest of the year a few shows to keep things ticking over while finishing my album 'In a moment emotion sentiment' which is due out in spring, also an xmas release on the newly founded awesome 'Olive Grove records' :-) and an x mas show with label buddies Randolph's Leap on the 22nd at the 13th note Glasgow, and next year just hopefully a lot of touring to launch the album.


Esperi - Dialled

If that sounds like it'd be your cup of tea of tea and you fancy checking Chris out in the flesh, either to listen to his music or perv over, or both if that's yer bag, then you're in luck as he has quite a few dates lined up before the end of the year. Starting off with a gig tomorrow night (11th) in Glasgow at Gallus, followed by an appearance at the Art Bar in Dundee on the 24th.
The he's back in Glasgow in the 24th at the Captains Rest supporting Blue Roses and Hannah Peel.

He rounds up the year with a wee tour of Scotland, finishing up on the 22nd December at the first ever Olive Grove Records Christmas party alongside Randolph's Leap and RM Hubbert.

Chris will also be playing as part of the Glasgow Podcart's 'Eclectic Peel' exhibition.

There will also be a wee Christmas single release in December, it comes out on Olive Grove Records and once again we have something pretty special lined up for you all. All I can say for now is that the CD will be limited to just 50 copies in a Christmas themed sleeve, hand made by the very lovely friend Iona from 'I Heart...'. His debut album is due for release in Spring next year.

Bandcamp
Myspace
Twitter
Facebook

Friday Freebies

Sufjan Stevens
Mr Stevens certainly likes to catch us off guard, first off he releases a surprise new EP, then the next thing you know he was giving away free track, 'I Walked', from his forthcoming album 'The Age of Adz'. Well now he's at it again, posting up another free download, 'Too Much', which you can find on his Bandcamp.

Summer Camp
My hipsters senses aren't what they used to be, until now Summer Camp completely passed me by, it wasn't until I was reading an article about them the other day that I realised that the duo actually comprised of one my favourite artists, Jeremy Warmsley. Their new 'Young EP', seems to be all over the place at the moment, which is fully deserved in my eyes, no it's not Scottish, but I'd urge you to check it out. If you need a bit more convincing then you can get a free download of their song 'I Only Have Eyes For You' by signing up to their mailing list (it's about half way down the page on the right hand side).

Esperi
Lo-fi experimentalist, Chris lee-Marr aka Esperi, makes some of the most delicate music in Scotland at the moment, and if Halina from the Glasgow Podcart is to be believed, then his forthcoming debut album is going to blow you away. Fine praise indeed, if you want to get in on the act before it all kicks off, then head on over to his Bandcamp, where you can download his track 'Proverb' , taken from his '21:21' EP for free.

Aspen Tide
The Glasgow indie pop quartet, have posted up their track 'Bittersweet' for free download on their Music Glue page. Simply give them your email address and they'll give you the tune, if that sounds like a fair deal to you, then get downloading here. Fans of bands like the Xcerts, Twin Atlantic and LightGuides should lap this up.

Randolph's Leap
Yes I know that I messed up their freebie the other week (thanks Jim), it was only up for a week, which I didn't know when I had found it, sorry. To make up for it, I have found this wee gem of a freebie from last year, it's their single 'A​-​side, B​-​side, Seaside' from last year, which you can get for free. The band have a new in the pipe line, which is sounding rather nifty, don't worry I'll remind you when it comes out.

Fiona Soe Paing
The Aberdonian electro-experimentalist, and also a favourite round these parts, has posted up 'Deep Song' from her excellent 'No Man's Land' release, for free download on her Bandcamp. Get it downloaded kids.

Mondegreen
The Glasweigan indie-pop experimentalists impressed me a lot when I caught them supporting 'we're only afraid of NYC' last month, you might remember that I posted a link to download their EP in Freebies a few weeks back. Now, being the generous folk that they are, they have posted up a rough demo called 'Casting Error', which you can download for here.

Walnut Tree Records
The Watford based label have posted up a cracking wee free download of a compilation album that they have compiled. There are a couple of Scottish acts on it, Pareto and The Barent Sea, you can get yourself a copy here.

Ace City Racers
Unashamedly taking their influences from Blur's Britpop days, the Glasgow indie trio have posted up their catchy as fuck tune, 'Scenester' up for free on their Bandcamp, if you like what you hear, then you'll be chuffed to learn that they have a residency at Pivo Pivo in Glasgow during October.

Lek Fonq
The Australian outfit have been described as being 'pop-funk meets electronica with a sunshine vibe', how could you resist something that sounds like so much fun. The band have given me an MP3 of a remix of their track 'Inner Rhthym', download it here.

Captain Polaroid
The Brummie lo-fi artist is back with another new freebie, his Beat Nostalgia EP3 is up for download over on his blog.

Lonesome Mercury
I don't think I have ever featured a band from the Isle of Man on Peenko before, so it's about time that I got that rectified with a dirty garage band by the name of Lonesome Mercury. They have a free EP called 'Dirty Northern Garage' up for free download on their Bandcamp.

!!! (chkchkchk)
The Californian dance punks have a new album out, 'Strange Weather Isn't It?', they're giving a wee tatster of it on their website, you can download 'AM/FM' here.

Sun Hotel
The New Orleans indie outfit are giving away a free download of their track 'Suburb', taken from their forthcoming album 'Coast', you can get a copy in exchange for a tweet or Facebook post.

Napoleon IIIrd
The band are giving away their track 'The Unknown Unknown' for free in exchange for a tweet.


Kowalskiy's Komplimentary Korner

Kowalskiy's Kontribution for today is a wee cracker, once again he's raised the bar just that little bit higher, how he'll manage to keep the standards this high I'll never know. This is the third in the series of his EP's, check this out for a track listing;

1. Over The Wall - track from the upcoming debut album
2. Penguins Kill Polar Bears - unreleased track
3. How To Swim - track from their upcoming album
4. Come On Gang! - Wolfjazz remix of 'Fortune Favours The Brave'
5. Shambles Miller - unreleased demo

Just click the pretty picture below and get downloading............

Weekly Round Up (05/09/10)

Monday - q without you took on some Fresh Meat action
Tuesday - I Build Collapsible Mountains and Come On Gang! both performed songs for me on my Fresh Air show, and now I can share them with you lucky punters
Wednesday - The Son(s) were the latest band to join the Scots Way-Hay club - love this band!
Thursday - Adam Stafford kicked off my series of posts on Scottish DIY labels as he told us a bit more about his label Wiseblood Industries. The lovely folk at Fresh Air also sent over a recording of my second show, which I stuck up for you to stream/endure.
Friday - Freebies time, man this week was good, oh so very good. Plus there was a recording of Galleries in session for Ally McCrae on Radio One, my third appearance on Fresh Air.
Saturday - Zoey Van Goey took on the Velvet Underground in 'We've Got It Covered'


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

First of, if you're free this afternoon and in Glasgow and looking for something to do, then look no further as the next Words Per Minute is being held at Creation this afternoon. Featuring sets from Zorras, Sian Bevan, Kirsty Logan, Georgina Porteous andKirsty Neary, plus a DJ set from Miaoux Miaoux. It all kicks off at 4pm and it's only three quid, find out more here.


On Thursday night at the 13th Note, Scottish music blogger The Daily Dose and Define Pop (promotions/radio) have teamed up to bring you a cracking line up under the banner of onewordPResents. The line up features Kochka,Blue Sky Archives, Campfires In Winter and Jonathan Sebastian Knight, tickets are only a fiver. If you fancy checking out a diverse range of local talent, then look no further.

On Friday promoters 'Gathering Whispers' have a great wee shindig lined, Swedish band Slaraffenland (Home Tapes) who are on tour in support of their most recent album "We're On Your Side", as it hits Stereo in Glasgow. The band have been getting a lot of amazing reviews recently, Pitchfork have even been raving about them. The support for the evening is pretty special too, with Glasgow indie stalwarts How To Swim, recent Scots Way-Hay'ers The Social Services, and Turning Plates completing the bill. Tickets are available here, although you might be advised to buy them from TSS as they have them that bit cheaper.






Edinburgh based band The Remnant Kings have a gig this Friday (10th) at the Wee Red Bar in the capital. The band are using the evening to raise money to record their debut EP, tickets are £4 in advance or £5 on the door, and doors open at 7pm. Further details can be found here.


After my piss poor attempt to 'do my bit for charity' on Fresh Air the other week (if you didn't hear it, don't ask), I am going to do my best to try and promote as many charity events as I can to try and counter balance my actions . This Thursday at Sleazys, the first of a series of Oxjam events is being held, to kick it off they're having an iBINGO night, 'where it’s music you’ll hear instead of numbers. There will be three rounds – Classics, Hits and Top 40 So for all of you who are ‘young and keen’ it’s ‘time for fun’. This game might be ‘unlucky for some’ but for 3 of you it could be your ‘saving grace’. By taking part you’re ‘halfway there’ to winning some fab prizes. So come on down and have a ‘jump and jive’ and remember it’s not over until the ‘2 fat ladies’ sing (or in this case shout bingo). 1 round will cost £2 or you can buy all 3 cards for £5. and remember all the money raised goes to OXFAM'. Aye so get along and do your bit.

This week sees Esperi heading out on a mini tour with the Portuguese indie star, Noiserv. Having met last year the pair really hit it off and became pretty good friends, which has sees them reuniting next week for some live dates in Scotland. The tour calls in at the following;

8th – Roxy Rooms, Edinburgh
9th – Tunnels, Aberdeen
10th – Secret Location, Glasgow
11th – n_ilk festival, Botanic Gardens, Dundee

The secret performance in Glasgow sees them being joined by special guests RM Hubbert and Finn LeMarinel (Trapped in Kansas). The location of the gig will be revealed in an email upon purchase purchase of a ticket on 'Untitled 4' s Bandcamp, which also includes a free download from each of the artists, plus as if that wasn't enough you will even be fed on the night.



And to finish us off, here's a wee video that Belle and Sebastian posted this week.....

Esperi - Hearts (part 2) Recorded live @ Define Pop 2

This is blissful!