Friday Freebies

We Are Augustines
Out of all of the acts that I saw at last weeks T in the Park,  for me the one band that stood head and shoulders above everyone else were none other than Brooklyn's very own, We Are Augustines. Having seen them a few months back supporting Frabbit, I had forgotten just how good they were live. The band have just announced that they're returning to these shores in October, hitting up Glasgow on 7th October. Anyway, you're not here my chat, here's the link you need to download their song Headlong for nowt.

 

Golden Grrrls
I guess I am a bit behind the times here, but fuck me Golden Grrrls are a bit good eh?! I only stumbled across this Glasgow trio when their name popped up in my twitter feed earlier this week . I can't quite remember who was talking about them, but my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to check them. I am pretty damn chuffed I did as there's cracking wee pop tunes to be had on their Bandcamp page. There is a whole host of stuff up for grabs on a pay what you want basis here.



Happy Particles
Not one's for resting on their laurels, Happy Particles are currently busy working away on the follow up to their SAY Award nominated album, 'Under Sleeping Waves'. Unlike most other bands they're very kindly sharing some of the demos that they've been working on. If the latest offering ' Black Verse' is anything to go by, then all I can say is more of same please gents.



Stuart Kidd
That there Stuart Kidd is one talented fella, when he's not on drumming duties for Jonny and Stevie Jackson, he can also be found playing as one of half of The Wellgreen. As if that wasn't enough he's also managed to  record this cracking wee EP of lo-fi pop gems which he's offering up as a free download on his Bandcamp page. This week might well have been a total washout, but these pop tunes really do make it feel it is summer, lovely stuff.




Ariel Pink
4AD are currently offering up a the chance for you to download a free MP3 of the new Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti song, 'Only In My Dreams'.

Friday Freebies

Happy Particles
Having made it down to the final ten in this years SAY Awards, Happy Particles have decided to give us a wee teaser as to how the follow up record might sounds. They've posted up a free download of the very first demo from the new record that they are just beginning to write, called 'Far Enough Inside'. If this is an indicator of what is to come, then I am sold.



CHURCHES
The prize for the hottest new band in Scotland this week goes to 'mysterious' Glasgow outfit CHURCHES (they even have the hipster friendly band name in capitals thing going on). The band who comprise of two boys and a girl caused a bit of a stooshie recently with the release of their debut single "Lies", which was made available as an exclusive download over on the Neon Gold blog. Rumour has it that the 3 piece are comprised of Iain Cook from The Unwinding Hours, Lauren from Blue Sky Archives and Doc from The Twilight Sad, but hey that could just be speculation (i.e. it is them). All you need to know is that 'Lies' is a cracking wee tune and you can download it for nowt here.

Jesus H Foxx
It's been that long since we last heard anything from Jesus H Foxx, that I had presumed they'd given up the ghost. Way back in 2009, the Edinburgh outfit released their Matter EP on Song, by Toad Records and then they disappeared off to record their debut album. Finally after all this time, Scotland's answer to Guns n Roses 'Chinese Democracy' finally sees the light of day later this month. To get us all in the mood and to remind us that they still exist, Mr Toad has posted up their single, 'So Much Water' for free download. If this tune is anything to go by, then the wait will have been worth it.

  So Much Water by Song, by Toad


Kowalskiy's Free Monthly 5-track Scottish EP 
There are certain things in life that just make things better, listening to your favourite records, getting a lie in after having a few too many shandies the night before (this rarely happens with me anymore) and to that pile I would like to add Kowalskiy's series of free monthly EP's. Not only does he make my job a hell of a lot easier when it comes to writing these Friday Freebies posts, but he's also introduced me to a lot of music that a lot of the rest of the Scottish blogosphere seems to overlook. Take for example his most recent EP (#23 no less), in which he's roped in an array of great music, which includes Northern Alliance, Fiction Faction, Letters, Foxhunting and The Beautiful Lies. There are a few bands in there that I have to admit I had never heard of until now, sterling work as always that man. You can read a bit more about all of the bands over on his blog, then download the EP from his Bandcamp page.



Wherehumanseat 
Fans of Yahweh and Boards of Canada take note, Wherehumanseat might be right up your street. With whole heap of  music available for free download on his Bandcamp page, this Glasgow artist is certainly someone I will be keeping my out for in the future.





Poor Things
Perth's finest sons, Poor Things have posted up a couple of demos for free download on their SoundCloud page.

  Sparky DEMO by POOR THINGS 

Drunk Mule
Some of you might remember the days of Kowalskiy's Komplimentary Korner, every week my blogger friend used to give me a tip for the latest freebie he'd stumbled across that week. Now he's got his EP series to keep him busy. Nowadays though, it feels as if I should be allocating the Drunk Mule boys their own weekly slot as they continue to churn out cracking wee tunes that they give away for free. This week is no different as they're giving away another brand new song called "Whisky Breath" for free on their Bandcamp page.

We've Got It Covered #96

I am sure that most of you are already aware that the inaugural longlist for the Scottish Album of the Year Award was announced this week and I think it's safe to say that the list took quite a few people by surprise. To be honest with you I don't really know what I was expecting, but from the 20 albums that made the long list there are a few that I was genuinely surprise to see on there and a whole lot more that I had plain old never heard of. I guess it's the eclectic nature of the list that makes it seem genuinely interesting. In case you've not already seen the list, it looks something like this:

6th Borough Project - "One Night In the Borough" 
Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat - "Everything's Getting Older" 
Bwani Junction - "Fully Cocked" 
Chris Stout's Brazilian Theory - "Live In Concert" 
Conquering Animal Sound - "Kammerspiel" 
FOUND - "factorycraft" 
Fudge Fingas - "Now About How" 
Happy Particles - "Under Sleeping Waves" 
Jonny - "Jonny" 
King Creosote & Jon Hopkins - "Diamond Mine" 
Mogwai - "Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will" 
Mungo's Hi Fi - "Forward Ever" 
Muscles Of Joy - "Muscles Of Joy" 
Remember Remember - "The Quickening" 
Richard Craig - "Inward" 
Rustie - "Glass Swords" 
Steve Mason & Dennis Bovell - "Ghosts Outside" 
Tommy Smith - "Karma"     Twin Atlantic - "Free" 
We Were Promised Jetpacks - "In The Pit Of the Stomach"

 As with all of these kind of awards it's inevitable that folk will gripe about what did and didn't make the final list. But having seen first hand how much hard work Stewart Henderson (Chemikal Underground/The SMIA and the driving force behind the awards) has put in behind the scenes in trying to encompass all of the various factions of the Scottish music scene, I reckon he's done a cracking job in pulling all of this together.
If you compare the final 20 choices with the top 20 albums chosen in last years BAMS Award, there are four albums in there that were in the BAMS top twenty: "Everything's Getting Older" , "Diamond Mine", "Kammerspiel"  and "In The Pit Of the Stomach". Which I guess only goes to prove that the Scottish blogosphere has a pretty different viewpoint compared to the rest of Scotland's taste makers. Personally I would have loved to have seen Adam Stafford and Monoganon in the list, but I guess they might still edge towards being a bit too obscure for some folk (still fucking great albums mind). Personally I would love to see either King Creosote & John Hopkins or Happy Particles win it. Hopefully well see both of them making the final list of ten, which will be revealed  on the 17th of May, if you want vote for your favourite album then you can do so on the 14th of May when the voting goes open the general public, with the  general public’s   choice  guaranteed a slot on the shortlist. The winning  album  will be announced on the 19th of June at a ceremony in Glasgow, with the winner receiving a cheque for a whopping £20,000 and the nine runners-up receiving £1,000. Not bad, not bad at all.

Right I best rush off, as I am heading through to Fife with Randolph's Leap for The Eye O' The Dug Festival (that's my excuse for the rushed nature of this post). Before I go here are some covers from some of the artists that I wouldn't mind winning the innaugural SAY Award.


Aidan Moffat & Bill Wells - Cruel Summer (Bananarama cover)

Conquering Animal Sound - Dancing On My Own (Robyn cover)

FOUND - Eyes So Bright (Cate Le Bon cover) 

Happy Particles - Lovestoned (Justin Timberlake cover)

King Creosote and Jon Hopkins - I Have Been Losing You (A-ha cover) 

Remember Remember - Twin Peaks theme tune (Angelo Badalamenti cover) 

Steve Mason - Borderline (Madonna cover)

We Were Promised Jetpacks - Blindsided (Bon Iver cover)

Friday Freebies

Kowalskiy
The trouble with writing these Friday Freebies on a Thursday night is that quite often someone posts a cracking free download on the Friday and I don't have time to update the post. This happened last week when my fellow blogger, Kowalskiy posted up his latest free monthly EP, his latest offering was possibly his best to date (do I say that every month?) including tracks from Blue Sky Archives, This Silent Forest, The Sea Kings, The Spook School and my current favourite thing ever - Behold, the Old Bear (who are also coincidentally playing at Stereo tonight). You can download the EP for free from Bandcamp


.
Where We Lay Our Heads 
I think I should warn you in advance that the new Where We Lay Our Heads single, Bury You. is one catchy fucking song. Seriously I haven't been able to get it out of my head all week, not that I complaining mind you. You can download the single for free over on their Bandcamp page. If you live in Edinburgh then you catch them playing live along with Letters and Loch Awe at the Wee Red Bar on Sunday night.




Woodenbox
Nothing makes me want to delete an email more than seeing the word 'remix' in the subject header, I have never really seen the point. But sometimes there is the odd exception to this rule as I fucking love the new remix that the FOUND boys have done for Woodenbox's Everyone Has a Price. You can download it for yourself and marvel in it's glory over on SoundCloud.

  Everyone Has a Price (Found remix) by Woodenbox band

Happy Particles
If you haven't already checked out Happy Particles debut album 'Under Sleeping Waves', then I would urge you to get that rectified asap, either that or you are already fully aware of just how fucking good the album is. Then either way you should check out the very first demo of the song Rhodia, that band recorded as back in 2009 when they were just a duo, as it's free to download on Bandcamp. You can catch the band playing their first live gig of 2012 next Saturday at the 13th Note, with support from North American War & Olympic Swimmers.



FatCat Demo Compilation
When the label that gave us the Twilight Sad, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Frightened Rabbit and now PAWS, post up a compilation of the best demos that they received recently you can't help but be interested to see what little gems they've unearthed. Find out for yourself what's been exciting them recently by downloading the compilation for free here

  Sisterland - New Jersey (Red House Painters) by FatCat Records Demo .

130701
Seeing as we're on a bit of a FatCat trip, you should check out their imprint label, 130701, as they've got a free sampler download up for grabs. Featuring tracks from Max Richter, Dustin O'Halloran, Hauschka and Jóhann Jóhannsson, the compilation can be downloaded in exchange for your email address.

Brazil Exists
Stirling pop-rock outfit, Brazil Exists have posted up a few free downloads on their SoundCloud page. Some of the tracks were recorded with Frightened Rabbit’s Andy Monaghan last year, you can find them here. The band will also be supporting the Frabbit boys on their Highlands & Islands tour of Scotland next month.

  Boxcar by Brazil Exists


Greyhound Out Of Mainline
What the world needs now is some incredibly miserable lo-fi shoegaze recorded in someones bedroom and thanks to Greyhound Out Of Mainline that hole has now been filled. He's just released his album, 'Quirky', on limited edition CD-R and as a free download on Bandcamp. If you're looking for something a bit downbeat to take you into the wee hours of the night then you might want to check this out.




Drunk Mule
And so we come to the end of this weeks Freebies, to round it all off we have the kings of Friday Freebies, a free download from those prolific Drunk Mule boys and their new track Forget The Crowds which can be found on their Bandcamp page.

Happy Particles - Under Sleeping Waves :Track by track

For those of you with good memories, you might recall that I featured Happy Particles as one of my Ones To Watch in 2011. At that time I had heard that their album was completed and I imagined that they'd be snapped up in no time. Then again things don't always turn out as you expect. In a world filled with landfill indie, I can't help but feel disappointed that their stunning debut album wasn't snapped up by an established indie label. So on Christmas Day, as you stuffed your faces and drank to excess (or was that just me), Happy Particles unleashed Under Sleeping Waves to the world. As a wee introduction to the album, I asked Steven Kane from the band to talk us through the last great album of 2011...


1. Aerials.

Aerials is a kind of hymn to latchkey children. It's a celebration of the drama you can find in the mundane, like the worlds children create for themselves when they are left to there own devices. One of my favourite films of all time is 'Ratcatcher' by Lynne Ramsay, this song definitely lives in that kind of world. There is also stuff in there about the warped nature of our memories which can lead to nostalgia about times which in fact were either pretty tedious or bleak. We have a full band version of this we are going to record but this versions' more minimal style seemed to suit the album better, also I couldn't resist opening the album with something so formless.


2. Infinite Jet.

This is our X-factor version of shoe-gaze, I say that with only a hint of irony. It's definitely the most poppy song on the record. Musically it's an attempt to cram as much melody and syncopation into a song as possible and then start blurring it all with ambience. Cheekily it has some of the bleakest lyrics, a wee trojan horse. I have no idea what it's about, haha.


3. Slowness.

This one is about the decay of people who are destroying themselves and the people around them, cyclically over and over. And the clarity, calm and guilt after the madness. Pretty claustrophobic for such a pretty sounding song!


4. Guide-dogs of the inner cities.

This one has no badness in it. It's about perceptions and about trying not to hold onto yours so firmly if you want to be able to breathe, it's a difficult thing to do in practice. It continues a loose theme of the hidden people kicking around our cities no-one is taking any notice of, who don't really belong anywhere. If you listen close you can hear James singing the lower vocals on this, lovely.


5. Offline Contact

An attempt at writing a ballad about bitterness, about mindless, manipulative people. A song about Cunts.


6. Reprise.

This is basically the melody from Infinite Jet but spruced up a bit with some new counter melodies. A nice interlude to shift the pace of the album.


7. Come Home All Dead Ones.

I wrote it one night when i was kind of losing the plot and I felt a horrible presence of dread and paranoia in the flat I was in alone. Obviously this was psychological but at the time it felt impending and quasi spiritual. It's a simple idea of ghosts being non-malevolent that I find quite comforting. It's starts off with the most sparse arrangement on the record and ends with the busiest.


8. Empty Circle.

I'd like people to make up their own minds about what this one is about. To me it's about the important things we don't allow ourselves to say or give ourselves time to think about.


9. Classes In Silence.

This song actually started out with a drone I had made which is now at the end. I gave it to Graeme and he would write arrangements for it from the melodies from the drone, i would go over and sit in his kitchen and say, 'yes this is what it should be like', 'no this bit isn't quite right', I was pretty much saying yes from the outset though. I think i did that twice and one day he sent the finished thing to me and it just reduced me to tears. It's music to listen to when you are getting farther from earth. It's our David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti song.


10. A.M. Sky.

This is the oldest song on the record. I originally wrote it before I even knew some of the people in the band. It's from an actual event that happened but it's not really my story to tell, I took some images from that and blurred it so it wasn't recognisable, like those old polaroids you find in junk shops.


11.Bleary.

This outro bit reminds me of when you fall asleep watching t.v. and wake up and it's just static, hopefully not as cranky.


Under Sleeping Waves is available now for the bargain sum of £5 from Happy Particles Bandcamp page. It might well be the best five pounds you spend this Christmas.

Festive Freebies

Frightened Rabbit
Just when I thought I had this weeks Freebies post all finished up cropped two free tunes from two of my favourite bands. First off we have the Frabbit boys with their new Christmas tune, Cheap Gold which you can download for nowt from their Soundcloud page. The band have also just announced that they'll be playing at the HMV Picture House in Edinburgh on the 10th of February. Tickets for the gig are on sale now.

The Twilight Sad
The other surprise freebie came from Kilsyth's finest sons, The Twilight Sad, who have also decided to share a wee Christmas present with us all. For reasons that are explained in the link below, they've decided to record a version of INXS's "Never Tear Us Apart". To find out more and download the track for free just head here.

Woodenbox
I'll warn you now, if you're not a fan of Christmas songs, then you might want to give this weeks freebies a very wide berth. If like me, you're a sucker for alternative festive tunes, then you're going to love this weeks post. First up we have a festive offering from Woodenbox (they've dropped the Fistful of Fivers bit), they've written a festive tune wittily entitled The Christmas Song, which is pretty fucking ace, you can download it for free from their Bandcamp page.

Zoey Van Goey
You might remember a few months back that Zoey Van Goey had a wee launch night for their remix EP launch. At that time the only way to get hold of the songs was on a limited edition CD that was only available at the gig. Now that the CD's are all gone, they've decided that as a special Christmas gift to us all they've made the tracks free to download on their bandcamp page.

Washington Irving
We really do have Christmas tunes a plenty this week, here's some more festive renditions which Washington Irving recorded on a tape deck in one of the bands room a couple of years ago.

The Stormy Seas
Another band getting well and truly into the festive spirit are Edinburgh outfit, The Stormy Seas who have just posted up their very own festive tune, The Christmas Before Last, for nowt on their Bandcamp page.

Café Disco
If you haven't check out the Pop Cop blog this week, then you really should as he's got a cracking wee feature on a band called Café Disco. He's just helped to fund the recording of a new song from band, which is now being given away exclusively on his site. I think it's a cracking wee tune, but even if you don't like it, it's worth reading just for the crazy scheming behind it all.

Kowalskiy
I appreciate that I'm a bit late with this one, but last week my fellow blogger Kowalskiy released his lastest monthly EP. Signing off the year in style, his eighteenth release features free tunes from Now Wakes The Sea, Wiredrawn, a cover of CYHSY from Reverieme, The Strangers Almanac and as if that wasn't enough there's also an exclusive track Happy Particles.

Coat Hooks!
You might remember them as Andrew Lindsay & the Coat Hooks, but since the addition of Sunshine Social multi-instrumentalist Nav Noorbakhsh their sound has changed somewhat, so they're now the Coat Hooks! They have an EP out in January, plus they're also playing at Tut's New Year's Revoloution gig, ahead of all of this they've made their new song, "Popcorn Blues", to free download here.

The Recovery Club
It feels like ages since we last heard anything from The Recovery Club, so their interpretation of the Christmas classic Silent Night came as a nice surprise. You can download this tasty wee treat for nowt on their Bandcamp page.

Fat Janitor
If you like your music to be noisy as fuck, then you're going to love Fat Janitor. I don't know too much about the band, aside from the fact they're from Glasgow and they'll make your ears bleed. You can download their self titled 7 minute song for nowt on their Bandcamp.

Bronto Skylift
While we're on the subject of noisy bands, that noisy as fuck duo the awesome Bronto Skylift have stuck up their track Cobblepot for free download on SoundCloud.

SubPop
Those lovely folk at SubPop have postted all of their free MP3s from the year that was 2011 all in one place handy place. For free tunes from band like the Head & The Heart, Dum Dum Girls, Vetiver and Fleet Foxes, just head here.

Drunk Mule
Hey you didn't think a week would go by without a freebie from the Drunk Mule kids did you?! This week offering is called 'I Built A Death Ray', if you still miss the Aliens (the band) then this might be up your street.

Lykke Li
It's been a pretty good year for Lykke Li, so as a wee treat to us all she's decided to give something back in the form of a free download for the “Lost Sessions,” which features some alternate takes for Wounded Rhymes cuts.

DOLFiNZ
Noisy two piece, DOLFiNZ have just announced that they'll be releasing a split single with PAWS some time in the new year. Sweet. Until then you can fill your boots on their Facebook page where there a whole load of free tunes up for grabs.

TheMirrorTrap
Last but not least we have a free tune from Dundee outfit The Mirror Trap who've posted up a free download of their track 'Broken Crown' for nowt on their Bandcamp page

Scots Way-Hay - The Artists Albums of the Year 2011 (Part 1)

And so it begins... I did warn you at the end of last week I did warn you that I would be starting on my numerous end of year polls. Following on from the success of last years series of posts I have decided to run my Artists Albums of the Year, which basically meant that I went back to any of the bands and artists that have featured in my Scots Way-Hay posts over the past couple of years. To kick us off here are the choices of Happy Particles, Discopolis, John Knox Sex Club, Come on Gang! , Trapped in Kansas and Miss The Occupier.

Belong - Common Era chosen by Steven Kane (Happy Particles/Remember Remember)

I had been a fan of Belong for a while before Common Era came out, their previous efforts sitting somewhere between Stars of the Lid and Tim Hecker at his most rusty. I was pretty surprised by the departure i heard on first listen, it's still engulfed in the usual 'tumble dryer' ambience but there is a really strong melodic heart to this record along with some almost subliminal rhythms. One of the reasons i like it so much is that it can be hard to tell where the source of a lot of the cacophony is coming from, although it all sits prettily in harmony. Your brain connects melodies and perhaps makes up some new ghost melodies too. I get that nice nostalgic cozy feeling from it that you do from some Boards of Canada records where melody and memory seem to bind in a beautiful wonkiness. It certainly owes something to some bands from the Shoegaze era but i think they have achieved something distinctly fuzzy and their own. Not just my favorite of 2011 but one of my all time favorite records.

Bon Iver - Bon Iver chosen by Laurie Corlett-Donald (Discopolis)

An incredible follow up that I think captures the simplicity and beauty of his debut ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ butmanages to chart new territory with epic 80’s sounding ballads to fully instrumented rock songs. I cannot wait to spend the winter months listening to this record on repeat in my room while enjoying large glasses of mulled wine.

Sparrow & The Workshop - Spitting Daggers chosen by Rory Anderson (John Knox Sex Club)

Sparrows first album was cracking, this is ten times better. Nick is a complete geek with equipment so all the guitars are a step ahead of the previous album, plus the harmonies perfect. Jills vocals are incredible, she has a delicate quality but also wails (not like zep, I mean in a good way) like fuck which can kick the arse of most singers. As I said, the harmonies are great, Gregor has an amazing voice as well, and the two match so well, never been able to explain why.... I guess everyone talks about the vocals when Sparrows come up in conversation, but the lyrics are lovely too. Jill is a really sincere writer, we played with them up in Aberdeen, and they soundchecked 'Old Habits', everyones jaws dropped in John Knox, we all were really taken by that song, the performance was great, but the lyrics were really beautiful. Anyway, that was pretty much 5 sentences of rambling. The record is really well put together, it's hard just to put on one song from it, but my favourite is 'Against The Grain". If I could drive and put a driving tape together, that song wid be on it.

P.S. The intro of Soft Sound Of Your Voice sounds like Dirty Diana by Michael Jackson, which is bawzoot.

FOUND - factorycraft chosen by Michael Morrison (Come on Gang!)

My album of 2011 is factorycraft by FOUND. Since it was released in March, nothing else has got much of a look-in on the annual roundup stakes, and I’ve subsequently played it dozens and dozens of times.

As perennial overachievers, it was great to finally see FOUND get snapped up by Chemikal for this record and, thankfully for both parties, everyone seems in agreeance that factorycraft is a solid step-up from their first two albums proper. Anyway…

It’s dark, funny, very very smart and instantly arresting. It also plays as a record – with two distinct sides – which is a rare treat these days. Though it’s experimental in approach, factorycraft is a solid pop record which is never ‘out there’ for the sake of artiness, and instead just occasionally trips the listener up a little along the way. I always think it’s pretty easy to create something unique, but to make something unique and good is nigh on impossible, and that’s what FOUND seem to do on an almost bi-annual basis these days.

Each song is killer, with Blendbetter’s epic drop being a stand out for me, but it’s the obvious range of influence on offer that keeps the record leap years ahead of the crowd. Part The Cure and part Arab Strap, but with really weird bits thrown in, factorycraft is impossible to date – if I was an idiot, I would absolutely believe that this record was a vintage relic sent back through time from the future. If I lived in Hoxton I would call it 'small-town- industrial-hawick-soul-pop'.

Colin Stetson- New history of warfare volume 2-judges chosen by Sean (John Knox Sex Club)

A record that I struggle to compare to anything else I have ever heard. In fact to go on about it and attempt to 'review' it would be pointless so I won't other than to say it is beautiful, apocalyptic, baffling, furious and desperate.



The Cosmic Birth & Jounrey of Shinju TNT by Akron/Family chosen by Chris Ward (Trapped in Kansas)

I stumbled across Akron/Family one late night trawling the recommended artists on iTunes and since I heard the first minute of opening track 'Silly Bears', I was hooked. This album opens up a world of epic and cosmic proportions, every song invites you into a radiant phantasmagorical soundscape. For me it's like listening to the best elements of Grizzly Bear, Maps & Atlases, Animal Collective and Beach Boys all rolled into one!

Like most albums you've never heard before the first port of call was the incredible artwork on the cover, which is a volcano spewing out lava into the night sky. It's a beautiful wash of deep colours and it defiantly added a peacock moment which lured me in and I'm glad to say I was not disappointed. Wanting to know a bit more about the band I read a few articles which led me to find out the album was written in a cabin built into the side of an active volcano in Japan and then recorded in an abandoned train station in Detroit and that they lost one of their founding members when he went off to become a Buddhist monk!

These guys are special, their music is special and I think more people should be listening to Akron/Family and the cosmic birth & journey of Shinju TNT.



Simon Werner a Disparu by Sonic Youth chosen by Magnus (Miss The Occupier)

Simon Werner a Disparu is a film soundtrack released this January on Sonic Youth's SYR label, an outlet for occassional albums and EPs highlighting the band's more experimental extremes. These haven't exactly been radio friendly unit shifters (1999's double disc Goodbye 20th Century is hard going by most people's standards) but this new release is probably the most accessible of the SYRs, more reminiscent of, say, Tortoise or the Dirty Three. Simon Werner a Disparu is entirely instrumental and is heavy on atmospherics and white noise, but there are plenty of Providence-esque pianos and jangly guitar melodies. The closing track Theme d'Alice is ace and politely rocks out in a similar way to Pink Steam from Rather Ripped.

The recent speculation about Sonic Youth's future has given the band headlines in 2011 for all the wrong reasons. Certainly more focus will be on Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore's respective solo projects in the near future, so it's only right to give credit to the actual music Sonic Youth have put out this year rather than the very un-Sonic Youth celebrity gossip that's been doing the rounds.

Back In The Game.... A News Roundup

I had fully intended to post up a news post ages ago, but alas things got a wee bit on top of me so this feel by the wayside. On Thursday coming it will be the blogs third birthday, bloody hell, time really does fly in. On the blogs birthday I celebrated by giving away free badges, then in year two I put out the one and only release on Peenko Records (I Build Collapsible Mountains debut album - funnily enough he releases his debut album this week). So what does year three bring then, well boy and girls it's that moment you've not been waiting for, this week we will hopefully be launching the first ever Peenko Podcast. Having hosted a few shows on Edinburgh student radio station, Fresh Air, I got the presenting/rambling pish, so I have managed to rope in my friend Charlie, aka King Post Kitsch, to record a show with me this week. Don't say I didn't warn you, anyway that's enough about me and my plans for world domination, on with the news...


It's been a while since I put on a gig on my own, so November felt like as good a time as any to test the wasters again. This time round I've roped in old favourites Randolph's Leap to support The Shivers a New York based duo who have recently just signed up to Fence. This is the first time that the two-piece will have played in Glasgow so I am pretty stoked to be able to be putting on their first show in my fair city. If you haven't heard of them before then I would thoroughly recommend that you check out their latest album, 'More' it's one the most addictive albums I have heard this year. Completing the bill I have Glasgow outfit Where We Lay Our Heads, a band that I have been a big fan of for ages now. I kept missing their live dates, so I thought that this was the best chance for me to see them live. I am still sorting out ticket details and the like, I'll tell you more a bit closer to the date.

The Shivers - Used To Be by peenko

Talking of other gigs that we have on, today sees the release of The Moth & The Mirror album on our wee label Olive Grove. To celebrate we've got two dates lined up in Glasgow and Edinburgh, the band will be hitting up Stereo this Wednesday (12th), before appearing at the Cabaret Voltaire in the capital this Sunday (16th). Open Swimmer support on both dates, with Rick Redbeard also doing the honours in Glasgow and Endor will be playing an acoustic set in Edinburgh. In addition to all of this the band are also going to be playing an acoustic set at 1pm in Fopp on Union Street in Glasgow on Sunday the 16th. I should hopefully have a lot more from the band on the blog later this week, I may go a little OTT - you have been warned. Oh and you should also check out their ever so pretty new homepage. For now though you can stream the album below, then go spend your pennies if you like it...

Peenko favourites the French Wives have spent the summer busily crafting their debut album with influential producer Tony Doogan. Their forthcoming long player is due out in the new year on the Electric Honey label, and ahead of it's release they're just about to put out new single, Numbers on October 24th. To celebrate the singles release they're having a launch night for it at Mono in Glasgow on Thursday the 20th of October, with support from Blochestra and Endor. Tickets for the gig can be pre-ordered via the bands new website now, plus you can stream the new single below.

French Wives - Numbers by peenko

What with the absence of the Music Like A Vitamin gigs this year, things with the Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival have been pretty quiet on the music front without, but there's still quite a lot of interesting things going on. Two of the more interesting gigs that might be of interest are Rod Jones, James Yorkstone and Withered Hand mentored some young musicians, helping them with writing and recording, culminating in a live gig at Nobles Bar, Leith, on Thursday 20th Oct. Then on Monday the 24th of October, composer Malcolm Lindsay will perform songs that he wrote with some local kids, which will be performed by a classical string quartet for the first time at Platform, Glasgow, at 12.30pm. The project which was commissioned by Alun Woodward (Chemikal Underground/Delgados) which apparently saw the kids using special music software which helps people write music using colours/shapes rather than traditional notation - sounds complicated to me!

Anyway, that's enough of my ramblings for one post, I will leave you a couple of videos, the first is of James Mackenzie playing live at Cafferys in Inverness, then we have a new video from indie popsters, Be Like Pablo...

We've Got It Covered #38

I guess it's a combination of old age and the realisation the Radio One during the day is truly fucking awful, either way I am pretty clueless when it comes to mainstream pop these days. I barely know what a Justin Bieber is, Tinchy Schneider just sounds like he must be a Dutch footballer, basically I am clueless when it comes to pop music, something which I am quite thankful for. By now you might be wondering why I am telling you all of this, well it's because I am posting a cover version of a pop sing and I have never heard the original version. Okay, so it's probably just because I am old, even if I do like to think of myself of being down with the kids. This weeks cover comes from the awesome Happy Particles, a band who have been exciting me a lot lately. If this cover version is anything to go by, then their debut album should be a real treat for.

Happy Particles - Lovestoned (Justin Timberlake cover)

Scots Way-Hay: Ones To Watch in 2011 #2 - Happy Particles

The second act that I have high hopes for in 2011 are Glasgow seven piece, Happy Particles. Formed by members of Remember Remember, they first came to my attention at the tail end of last year, thanks to Halina from the Glasgow Podcart. She suggested I check them out as she thought they were pretty special. I think the phrase she used was something along the lines of "you're going to spaff when you hear them" and spaff I did. It was the song 'Infinite Jet' that I heard first, having come across a link to download it from RCRD LBL. I must have listened to the tune on repeat an unhealthy number of times, for most of December it was pretty much all I listened to on my way to, and from work. Intermixing elements of shoegaze, prog-rock and even a touch of pop, Happy Particles are a band that excite me a lot, I expect big things for them this year, I'm sure they won't disappoint.



Would you care to introduce yourself?

We are Happy Particles from Glasgow, Scotland. Steven does guitar and vocals, some occasional drones. James does keyboards, saxophone. Al does guitar and bass. Ricky plays guitar. Gordon is on drums and percussion. Graeme plays bass mostly and sometimes piano.


What inspires the music you make?

Pretty much everything going on in our lives really. Friends. Childhood memories. Other music. Thematically a lot of the little stories are about being slightly dislocated from society in some way, that could be either physically, emotionally or financially. Or event's described from different points of view at the same time. Some sort of attempt at neutrality of observation is probably the biggest inspiration. I'm always left cold with music (or any other art from) that is really direct and demands specific reactions from the listener/audience.


What artists do you feel that you have an affinity with?

Any other artists who just need to make music/Art to exist, to keep sane. To make something special for the sake of it. I think you can really hear it in peoples music when they are coming from this perspective. Local artists i would point out like this would be, Alec 'Cheer' (he made the video for a song of ours called 'a.m. sky' but is also a prolific sound artist) . He has released a ridiculous amount of amazing material, quietly for the last few years. Another would be RM Hubbert. He started stripping things back for his solo work, musically and also the actual environment of the show itself, making it more personal. He has started to get more recognition in the last few months which is really exciting because of where it's all coming from originally, totally humble, stark but mind blowing music. Historically i suppose band's like 'Low', 'Codeine' or 'Red House painters' would be references, both musically and the fact they had the guts to write and explore their own distinct musical world without fear of not making money or whatever.


For people out there that have never heard of you, why they should they check you out?

I'm not sure really, i don't think that's really our job to tell them why. I guess we aren't really here to sell anything, if you happen to hear us and you like it then that's amazing. If someone finds our music years from now by accident and it becomes an intimate part of their life then that's all you can really ask for. When someone finds out about us is pretty meaningless from our point of view, as we can only really write and hope for a bit of luck. Most of the music that has come to be dear to me has been either a happy accident in finding it or the artist is either penniless or dead. Cheery, haha. I think the only thing i could say as a 'selling point' is that it is pretty much uncompromised from what we set out to do.


Is it true that you have already recorded an album? When can we expect to see it coming out?

We have recorded 99% of our album. We spent about 9 or 10 days in total on it but spread out over about 7-8 months. So it seems like it has taken us longer than it actually has. We basically are being recorded by a friend (Robin Sutherland) for extremely cheap as we have no financial backing at all. It should be mixed by the end of January and after that we shall just send the whole album out to some labels we are fond of etc. If that fails we might just end up releasing it ourselves but fingers crossed we get a good response.


What do you enjoy more, playing live or being in the studio?

I personally like both when it's going good but they can be equally horrid experiences. Most of the album was written before we went into the studio, so it was basically painting by numbers for us in there. Having said that, we have had our moment's of nearly killing each other in the studio and that never happened until that situation came up. It can be very difficult psychologically for all involved, especially if you care so much about the thing, which we all do.


Are there any new up and coming artists that you would recommend I check out?

If you like anything such as 'Tim Hecker' or 'Stars of the Lid' i would check out a local band called 'No Comet' who just played with us. Findo Gask aren't new and have in fact split up but i hear they may release their album soon anyway. I've heard it and it's one of the best things that has come out of Scotland in years. So keep and eye out for that. We are all in other bands too so i would shamelessly plug them, Tangles, Stapleton, Remember Remember, Prayer Rug. All amazing obviously ;o)


What can we expect to see and hear from you in 2011?

Our album hopefully, 'Under Sleeping Waves'. Fingers crossed.

Happy Particles - Infinite Jet



Facebook
Myspace

Am Sky from Alec Cheer on Vimeo.