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 (29/08/10)

Monday - get yer teeth into some tasty Fresh Meat brought to you by B-Movie Junkies, plus I had Calamateur's Moray Firth Session
Tuesday - Aberfeldy were in session for Vic G
Wednesday - A Band Called Quinn were the 30th entry in the Scots Way-Hay club
Thursday - a session from The Burns Unit on Marc Riley's show
Friday - Freebies!!! including stuff from Randolph's Leap and Martin John Henry. Plus a sessions from Haight Ashbury and the Shutter on Vic Galloway's show
Saturday - Washington Irving covered Hot Chip in We've Got It Covered


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



As I am going to be a bit preoccupied this next month, I have organised a series of posts featuring DIY Labels in Scotland. So over the next six weeks you can expect to see interviews with the folk that run Wiseblood Industries, Armellodie Records, 45 A-Side Records, Seventeen Second Records, RE:PEATER RECORDS, Too Many Fireworks, Chaffinch Records, Gerry Loves Records, Instinctive Racoon Records, SL Records and Song By Toad Records. Having edited them all, you can trust me when I say that you are in for a treat as you gain an incite into some of the most exciting labels in Scotland, plus there will definitely not be any 'King making' ;)




Former Scots Way-Hay starlet Julian Corrie, aka Miaoux Miaoux releases his new single, ‘Knitted’ this Wednesday (1st) on download and limited edition CD with knitted sleeve.
It will be available from his homepage, it also features a remix from The Japanese War Effort and a special live track, which will be exclusive to the physical release. The whole thing is in aid of charity, as Julian explains: “A friend and I had the idea for knitted CD covers. We approached a knitting group at Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres and they agreed to do it in return for a donation to the charity. I’ve recently lost someone very close to me to prostate cancer, so I’ll be donating some proceeds from the single to both Maggie’s and Cancer Research.”
Miaoux Miaoux plays at the Captain’s Rest in Glasgow tonight, alongside Fox Gut Daata.


If you are in the capital tonight and looking for a good way to round off your festival experience, then Fiona Soe Paing is performing her "No Man's Land" score supporting the Hidden Orchestra's live re-working of Powaqqatsi at the Roxy Art House. Due to a weird timing issue, Hidden Orchestra are on at 11.30, and Fiona at 12.30 (I think).

On Thursday night at the Roxy, Edinburgh's Amy Duncan, a singer and multi-instrumentalist from Edinburgh, launches her new album 'Potential-Space'. The night will feature 3 sets, one from Scottish harpist and composer Fiona Rutherford will be playing her own compositions on clarsach, accompanied by Amy on doublebass . Followed by electronic artist Bradley Burns playing some of his tunes on laptop, then Fiona, Bradley and Amy will then together play songs from the album. You can listen, and if you like it, order 'Potential-Space' now from her Bandcamp.

Amy Duncan - Natural

On Thursday night, our good friends over at Elba Sessions are having their tenth (yes tenth!), Elba Sessions Presents evening. As always they've got a cracking line up in store for you, this months features Finn Lemrainel (of Trapped in Kansas fame), Shauna Joy and Lynne Louden, and as if that wasn't impressive enough, it's free entry.

Weekly Round Up (20/06/10)

Monday - this weeks Fresh Meat Monday were Ming Ming and The Ching Chings, shite name, great band
Tuesday - I wrote my epically long review of my time up at goNorth,
Wednesday - The Lava Experiments became the 20th entry into the Scots Way Hay club
Thursday - nowt happened as I got invited along to the launch of Tennents new marketing campaign. Still not entirely certain as to why they asked me, but hey I'm not one to turn down a freebie. Having turned up knowing not a soul, I managed to find a friendly face in Chris from The Daily Dose and proceeded to milk the free bar dry. This later lead to me turning up at the JD Set in a rather merry state and sporting a top hat. It ended with me telling Jim Ayetunes about how I wanted to kill a seagull. I shouldn't be allowed out in public.
Friday - it's Freebies time, this week we had some corking Scottish bands giving away free stuff, including Mitchell Museum, Aerials Up, Ghost Pants, The Vaselines and Healthy Minds Collapse. There were also some live recordings from Rockness, which included some pretty interesting covers and lastly, there was Frightened Rabbit's World Cafe session.
Saturday - Mitchell Museum were this weeks 'We've Got It Covered' stars, with their interpretation of MIA's Paper Planes. Plus there was the added bonus of Any Color Black's session for Leith FM


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

For any of you that follow me on Twitter or saw Jim Ayetune's Facebook last night, we are pleased to announce that 'Ayetunes vs Peenko' is back for a second outing in July. It's going to take place at the 13th Note on Saturday the 17th with we're only afraid of NYC, Little Yellow Ukuleles and Randolph's Leap. Ticket details and the like are still to be confirmed, we just wanted to get it announced. So get it pencilled in your diaries, it's going to be a cracking night.

Next weekend sees the introuduction of new Scottish Music Festival called Solas Festival. It takes place over in Biggar, and it has a fair few cracking bands from this neck of the woods. The lineup looks something like this....

Friday - Iain Morrison, FOUND, The Starlets, Findlay Napier & the Bar Room Mountaineers, Esther O'Connor, The Homecoming String Band with more bands still to be announced.
Saturday - McIntosh Ross, Jo Mango, We See Lights, Juliet Turner, Theatre – Scaramouche Jones, The Lowly Knights, Alex Cornish, Old Solar, Calamateur, Andy Thornton, Yvonne Lyon, Sol, The Merchants, Suplex the Kid, Brian McGlynn, Augusta Fireball, Paul Shevlin and Hannah Kitchen
Sunday - Peatbog Faeries, Mr McFall’s Chamber, Stanley Odd, Kitty the Lion, Monica Queen & Thrum, Blueflint, Three Blind Wolves, Kim Edgar, Fair Witness, The Russian Choir, Easy Tigers, Michael McLennan, The Lonely Oatcake, Adam Stearns, Rory Butler and Jamie Wilson

If that sounds like it would be something of interest to you, then you can find out more about the festival over on their homepage or alternatively, you can check out their blogspot.

If you live in Edinburgh, and you have no plans for next Saturday night (26th), then might I suggest you head down to the Roxy Arthouse to catch Fiona Soe Paing who is playing at the Roxy as part of a night entitled 'Is This A Test'. Having caught her at GoNorth just last week, she defo gets the Peenko seal of approval Admission for the Video Lounge part is free, £5 (£3 advance from artists) for performances in the Roxy Room. For further information contact: colliderscope@gmail.com

If you are still a bit gutted at missing out on tickets for the Fence Collectives Away Game, then this might bring a little consolation. The East Neuk label have to announced that they are having their own new summer festival in Anstruther. It's called Haarfest and it runs from Monday 16th to Saturday 21st of August. It's being held in the Hew Scott Hall from Monday to Thursday, and then moving to the Cellardyke Town Hall for the Friday and Saturday. A ticket for the whole week, which you access to everything, will set you back £50. With individual tickets priced at just £12.50 per evening show (with concessions for U12s if their licence allows, U7s free). Here's the line up in full.....

Mon 16th - Admiral Fallow, Adem, Silver Columns.
Tue 17th - The Oates Field, Inspector Tapehead, The Pictish Trail's "Bit Of Strange".
Wed 18th - Onthefly, Seamus Fogarty, Eagleowl.
Thu 19th - Lonepigeon, Pip Dylan, HMS Ginafore, Gummi Bako.
Fri 20th - FOUND, Withered Hand, Meursault
Sat 21st - King Creosote, Kid Canaveral, Smackvan.

You can buy tickets for the event here.


It's the end of the month, which means that it's Pin Up Nights time. This coming Friday they have yet another belter of a night planned, playing live they have Foxgang, Little Yellow Ukuleles and Casino Brag. With DJ-sets from Pooch, Ace City Racers and Mitchell Museum.
On top of all this action they've decided to offer up a special offer reduced entry for their Facebook and Mailing list chums. On the night they're running a £3 guest list, with the usual £5 entry on the door. To get yourself and any of your pals on the £3 guest list all you have to do is send a Facebook message or Email to Pin Up Nights with all the names you want added to the list before midnight on 24th June. You gotta love those kids.


Also taking place on Friday (25th) is a very special show by the Noise Abatement Society. Taking place at a secret venue, it features a cracking wee line up, Yahweh, The Japanese War Effort, Field Mouse and RM Hubbert. Tickets are very limited and will only set you back £4, if you're quick off the mark then you might still be able to buy one here.

Fresh Meat Monday - Fiona Soe Paing

Would you care to introduce yourself?

I am Fiona Soe Paing. I'm a musician/vocalist from Aberdeen. Fiona is the Aberdeen half. The Soe Paing half is because my dad was Burmese. I am the audio half of the audio-visual duo Colliderscope. The visual half is an amazing animation artist called Zennor Alexander who lives in New Zealand. I perform live with projected animations for each of the songs, like a live soundtrack to a cinema showing...

How would you describe the music you make?

I have a handy wee caatchphrase which is "skeletal, off-world electronica..." skeletal, in that its pretty sparse and minimal, just the bare bones of arrangements - off-world because a few people have said some songs sound like aliens from another planet trying to make contact with earth!! I like to call them alien lullabies too, because it also can sound very soothing and warm, like the sounds are tucking you up in a fluffy blanket. But some are also harsh and stark.... and lush, and minimal at the same time.. eh, what? The Guardian said it was "hybrid going on mutant" which i think is pretty apt, and I hope a sort of compliment too...

How did you start out making music?

I first got into music through being a dancer and training in choreography . I wanted to make up dances to music that came out of the dancer's body, instead of having to make up steps to someone else's music... I made an electronic soundtrack for a piece which was triggered by a dancer's brainwave patterns when she was hooked up to an EEG machine at St Thomas' Hospital. It wasn't very good though. Then I discovered I loved singing, which was the easiest way to make music coming straight out of your body...and started writing tunes... I sang for a few bands but nothing really clicked until I bought a computer and started writing my own material. I am still figuring out how do do the dancing thing as well though, without it turning into a horrible Kate Bush type performance art joke ....

What process goes into the way you write songs?

I usually start with playing around on the computer ( I use logic on my laptop) until I find some interesting sounds I like , and just build up layers , until a structure and rhythm evolves. Then I improvise a vocal melody with random sounds. Sometimes I go back and write "proper" words, but usually I like the sound of the random noises better than the words, so they become the final vocal line. If I need to do a re-take, I write down phonetically what I said first time around, and then "learn" the words so that they match up if I want to do a harmony or whatever.

What can people expect from your live shows?

As I said its like a cinema performance - I project Zennor's films and sing live to the audio soundtrack. It can be quite hypnotic, darkly mermerising in a way , very downtempo... its been described as 'beautiful, sensual and soulful" and well as "stylish, elegant and sinister... " other people have said its maudlin music to slit your wrists to, so make up your own mind....

What are you all listening to at the moment?

I've been away from Scotland for years, just moved back, so I am trying to catch up with what's happening on the music scene here by tuning into some great local podcasts... like the Glasgow PodcART and We Sink Ships on Radio Magnetic. And having been living in New Zealand for three years where the music on the radio is mostly bleh.... I am actually really enjoying listening to Radio One and Radio Four again...

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

A lot of shouting- about the abomination of a "concept" that is Sir Ian Wood's "City Square Project" . His masterplan is to concrete over the beautiful and under-used Union Terrace gardens in Aberdeen, destroying the green space and mature trees and to build a shopping mall/plaza on top... "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot, with a pink hotel and a swinging hot spot" (as in the poignantly apt words of Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi") Ok, rant over.... Oh, yes, and hopefully lots of audio-visual gigs at festivals - got my fingers crossed for something at the newly revamped Roxy Arthouse in Edinburgh...would like to do a few gigs in cinemas too... Zennor is just finishing off the last couple of videos, so we will be looking for a label and distribution for that when its done..

If that's sound like it'd be up your street then you can download/stream Fiona's track "Deep Song" below, it's taken from the DVD album "No Man's Land" which is coming soon, watch this space......

Fiona Soe Paing - Deep Song (MP3)


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