I am far too hungover to function as a normal human being today, so I am going to keep this post nice and short and cut straight to the cover version which comes from Peterheads finest sons IndianRedLopez and their take on Twin Shadow's Castles In The Snow. You can catch the boys on tour this week as they're out on the road with Song of Return, on Thursday (29th) they're at the Tunnels in Aberdeen, Friday (30th) they hit up the Wee Red Bar in Edinburgh and then they finish up at the ABC2 in Glasgow on the Saturday night (31st), tickets for all of these shows are available here. I am away back to the lie on the sofa and feel sorry for myself...
Pensioner
Our very own Pensioner are very kindly offering fans the chance to snap up their cracking debut album Yearlings for free on their Bandcamp page. Be quick mind as this offer is only going to be available for a few more days.
Aerials Up
Those lovely Aerials Up kids are giving away a free download of arguably their best song, All Your Mothers Daughters here.
IndianRedLopez
As a Christmas gift to us all, Aberdeenshire's finest, IndianRedLopez have posted up their cover of Twin Shadow's Castles In The Snow for free download on their SoundCloud page.
Armellodie Records
Scottish indie label, Armellodie Records are giving away a free sampler compilation, featuring tracks from the likes of Chris Devotion & The Expectations, The Scottish Enlightenment and Super Adventure Club. Download the sampler for free from their Bandcamp page.
Gargleblast Records
As a special wee Christmas present, the nice folk at Gargleblast Records have posted up a link to a folder containing all of their free downloads from their December giveaway '12 Days of Xmas' project. The compilation which features songs from likes of Life Without Buildings, Foxface, Desert Hearts, Pan, De Rosa and specially written song from Martin John Henry can be downloaded using this link.
Merge Records
Yet another label giving away a sampler are American indie label, Merge Records who are giving away a free 12-song Winter Sampler featuring tracks from the likes of Lamchop, Superchunk and one of my favourite songs of 2011 from Eleanor Friedberger.
Cancel The Astronauts
Those nice Astronaut boys were getting into the festive spirit last week as they posted up a new version of I Am The President Of Your Fanclub (And Last Night I Followed You Home) for free download. The revamped version features has more synths and banjo, but thankfully no sleighbells though, you can download it here.
Amazon
The online retailers have a whole host of free MP3's up for grabs, including songs from the much hyped Bwani Junction, the world's next Mumford & Sons - aka Dry The River and Australian outfit, The Jezabels.
The Rose Taylor Project
As a wee prelude to their new album Twin Beds which comes out on Oddbox Records in February of next year. The Rose Taylor Project are giving away a free download of the song Wedding here.
The Very Most
They might not be Scottish, but this American outfit sure do love music from our wee nation. It was my friend Mark that first brought them to my attention with their song, All The Best Bands Are From Scotland, a cracking wee pop tune that name checks nearly every great band that Scotland has ever produced. They recebtly released a special Christmas EP, and you can download sampler track Wombling Merry Christmas for nowt here.
Doris Mavis
Innovative up and coming label, Electropapknit, have posted up a free download of some tracks from Doris Mavis, an experimental lo-fi outift from Glasgow. The band who are made up of members of Copy Haho and pvh, have an EP called Moris Davis, you can grab it for free here.
Tom Robinson
You might only know him as that well-spoken and much loved 6Music presenter, but back in his heyday Mr Robinson was one of the most popular rock stars in the country. I guess you all probably know the song, 2-4-6-8 Motorway, but might not know much more. Well now you can yourself more acquainted with his past work as it's all up on his SoundCloud for free download.
Pareto
Ahead of their appearance at King Tut's next month with Dilectrics and Bear Arms , Pareto are giving away a free download of their track The Antidote on their Bandcamp page.
Kevin P. Gilday
Glasgow's post-punk poet and former frontman of electronic duo, How Garbo Died, Kevin P. Gilday ha released his debut solo album as free download on his Bandcamp page.
The Bird and the Monkey
If you're quick off the mark then you can download yourself a free copy of Scottish, The Bird and the Monkey 's debut album BalloonBaboonBallroom, be quick mind as this will only be available until New Year’s Day.
Dan Mangan
If you go and 'like' Dan Mangan on Facebook he'll give you a free download of his song Post War Blues.
Gothenburg Address
Edinburgh post rock outfit, The Gothenburg Address have made the live recording of their come back show free to download here.
Frank Turner
To celebrate the end of 2011 Frank Turner is giving away new track called 'Happy New Year' as a free download here.
I have been promising myself a beak for ages now, but there's always been something that's sprung up that's made me keep going. However, seeing as it's the summer time and things are a wee bit quieter I have decided to cut back on my posts for a few weeks. I will still be posting the odd session here and there, plus I will have a few Fresh Monday posts and perhaps a sporadic ramble or two. However, there will be no Friday Freebies posts for the a few weeks and I'll also be taking a break from my Scots Way-Hay posts so I can recharge my batteries a wee bit.
But before I bugger off here's some news for y'all...
Peenko favourites, Mitchell Museum return with a new single which comes out on Monday, it's called 'What They Built' and it's the bands first new track in the lead up to their second album release which is due out in early 2012. The single will be out digitally, plus there is also going to be a super exclusive run of children's keyboards with the single download code hidden somewhere inside. Apparently you have two options to reclaim the code: A: Systematically remove the screws from the underside of the keyboard to gain access or B: Smash it to pieces.
The band celebrate the singles release with a show tonight with a gig at Stereo in Glasgow, support comes from their friends Fur Hood and Andrea Marini (last I head one of these two had pulled out, not sure which one though), it all kicks off. If any of you kind souls have extra pennies to spare and you're going to this gig I'd love you forever if you could pick me up up one of them pretty keyboards. Yeah I know the chances of anyone doing this are pretty fucking slim, but I can only ask...
If you're out about in Edinburgh tonight then you might want to get yourself along to a fundraising event for The SSC (A Club for the Youth of Scotland) at the Cabaret Voltaire. Doing their bit for charity are none other than Washington Irving (who I caught for the first time last Sunday and were ace), Bwani Juntion, Matt Norris & the Moon, and recent Scots Way-Hay starlet, Mike Nisbet. The gig kicks off at 7pm, you can pre-order tickets in advance here. Further information on the gig can be found on Facebook.
If Mitchell Museum aren't your thing, but you're still looking for something to do in Glasgow tonight, then Nice N Sleazy's might be for you, as Aberdeen's finest sons Indian Red Lopez are in town to promote their cracking debut album 'Empty Your Lungs and Breathe'. The boys were on top form when they played the bloggers showcase night at goNorth, so I can vouch that they're great to see live. Support tonight comes from local starlets Blue Sky Archives and The Brazen Cars, it's only £5 to get in and it all kicks off at 8pm. Further details can be found here.
On Tuesday night BBC Scotland will be airing their documentary on the Scottish bands that played at this years SXSW Festival. This will include Peenko favourites such as Kid Canaveral, Admiral Fallow, The Twilight Sad, Bronto Skylift, Withered Hand and King Creosote among other. The show will be on at 9pm on BBC2, however, you can watch a wee taster video below:
The Electric Frog Summer Weekender returns on the 30th-31st of July. The festival which is held at SWG3 (street & warehouse) in Glasgow, this years feature performances from bands such as The Fall, Nitzer Ebb, Chrome Hoof, Errors and a lot more. Early bird tickets are available now, with day tickets setting you back £22.50 (+ booking fees) and weekend tickets at £40 (+ booking fees). Further details can be found on the festivals website.
On Thursday Born To Be Wide are hosting a seminar explaining how to get music synched in ads, TV, film and computer games. The event takes place from 1930-2130 at Edinburgh’s Electric Circus and will be followed by Buy What You Hear DJ sets in partnership with the Oxfam Record Shop. Confirmed speakers include Gerry Farrell, creative director of the Leith Agency and David Harron, Executive producer at BBC Scotland. They will be joined by one of Scotland’s leading music supervisors, Caroline Gorman from Rage Music and David McGinnis, A&R and head of licensing at Mute Song. An additional guest is expected to be confirmed in the coming days. “Getting music synced can be a valuable source of extra income for musicians, and can also generate useful exposure,” says Born To Be Wide co-organiser, Olaf Furniss. “Each of the panellists is an invaluable source of information and will be able to shed light on this aspect of the business.” The seminar will cover how the music choices are made, how much money is paid and will provide tips on the best way of getting music used. Following the panel, the participants will DJ with tunes they have selected from the Oxfam Record Shop and everything played will be available to buy. Further details on how to book tickets and the like can be found here.
Right I guess that's enough from me for one post, I'm going to finish up with this cracking wee video this years Homegame Festival. The video is sound tracked by Kid Canaveral and their cover of King Creosote's 'Missionary' which they originally covered as part of a session that they did for Vic Galloway last year. This studio recording even features King C on backing vocals and accordion and it sounds ace if I do say so myself. If you pre-order their album 'Shouting At Wildlife' on vinyl, they'll send you on old school cassette tape which features my favourite song on the album ʻAnd Another Thing!!ʼ and the studio recording of 'Missionary' (the tape also includes a download code). You can pre-order the album on vinyl through Fence Records, the band will also be playing on the BBC Introducing Stage next Saturday at T in the Park.
Monday - Skies Fell took on some Fresh Meat action Tuesday - Sexual Objects Session for Vic, plus our good friends over at Gerry Loves told us a bit more themselves as my 8th DIY label Wednesday - Zoobizaretta became the 35th entry into the coveted Scots Way-Hay club Thursday - there was a wee announcement of a special gig in November (more of that below). There was also a wee interview with the lovely folk at Instinctive Racoon in my DIY series Friday - there was some of the finest freebies in ages, including tunes from FOUND, French Wives and The Phantom Band. There were also sessions from Edwyn Collins and Citizens. Saturday - my We've Got It Covered feature brought you Ballboy's unique take off Springsteen classic
News, gigs and any other gubbins......
In case you missed our big announcement earlier in the week, Ayetunes vs Peenko is back and what a line up we have in store for you this time. Joining us at the Classic Grand on Bonfire Night will be none other than the Seventeenth Century, Come On Gang! and I Build Collapsible Mountains. Tickets for the gig are on sale now for a very reasonable £6, you can get them through Ticket Scotland, Ticketweb and directly from my Big Cartel page, which has the added bonus of no booking fees and free postage.
As part of this years Oxjam Festival, I've managed to secure a pretty awesome lineup, gracing the stage in the name of charity will be none other than Super Adventure Club , Bronto Skylift , Carnivores and Campfires in Winter.All of this for a fiver, cannae complain. Since this is part of Oxjam all the proceeds from the gig will go directly to Oxfam. So come out, do your bit for charity and listen to a night of LOUD and AWESOME music. Tickets are £5 on the door, first come first served, so get down early!
Our good friends over at Elba Sessions celebrate their first birthday next Friday,the 8th of October. In true Elba style they've lined up an eclectic evening at their spiritual home, The Liquid Ship, featuring Cuddly Shark, Julia and The Doogans, Yusuf Azak, Jonathan Sebastian Knight (My Cousin I Bid You Farewell) and Paul McLinden (who was the first performer to grace the Elba stage). Elba blog-master Phil notes: 'Unfortunately we couldn’t ask everyone, there were quite simply too many people and we didn’t quite have it in us to organise a five day festival but we’re proud of the line up and hope that you will join us to celebrate a good year where we have met so many good people who have helped us out, whether it be a mention on their blog, sending us some music to listen to or even the odd follow friday on twitter!!' As it is a special occasion the night has moved from its usual Thursday night slot to Friday. The evening starts at 8.30pm sharp and it is free entry as always.
Tomorrow sees the relaunch of Too Many Fireworks, you might remember I featured them as part of my Scottish DIY Labels feature. The label returns with release of label owner, Neil Milton's 'Elements EP'. Recorded in Neil’s adopted home of Warsaw, the EP contains five short pieces of modern-classical music, each loosely inspired by one of the medieval elements. In August, the collection soundtracked the short film "We Sink Ships: Elements", by the now defunct art collaboration We Sink Ships, when shown at the Edinburgh Arts Festival. Check out the labels homepage for further details.
Former Fresh Meat starlets, Indian Red Lopez, continue their mini tour of Scotland this week. The Aberdeenshire 'guitars 'n' electronics outfit' are at The Greenside in Glenrothes tonight, followed by an appearance King Tuts on Tuesday (5th). In Glasgow the band will be supporting ever-rising Northamptonshire electro-popsters Fenech Soler. The band then had across to Holland for mini tour after that. Indian Red Lopez - 'My Eyes'
Tonight in Glasgow, Perth based rock outfit The Barent's Sea finish off the last night of their tour with a gig at the Captains Rest. The band have garnered a lot of attention recently, and their high energy live set is apparently quite a sight to behold. Support comes from local acts The Darien Venture, Alburn, and Jack The Wolf. Find out more details here.
Those lovely Fence folk also used this week to officially announce the line up for this years Halloween Party. They are moving from their spiritual home of Anstruther and showing us Weegies what a party should really be like. Funnily enough it'll take place on Sunday the 31st of October at Stereo and The Old Hairdressers (directly across from Stereo) in Glasgow. Running from 2pm right through till 2am, check this for a line up; King Creosote, James Yorkston, Silver Columns, James Yuill, Lord Cut Glass, Alasdair Roberts , John MacLean (DJ) , Jo Mango, Vladimir Lad, Randolph’s Leap, John B McKenna, Jonnie Common, Gummi Bako, Pictish Trail, plus many more acts still to be announced. Tickets for the gig are £25 and you can buy them here, be quick though as if last years anything to go by this will set out very quickly.
To round things off this week here's a little taster from Shambles Miller's forthcoming EP, 'Shambles Sails the Clockwork Sea'. The EP isn't out until the 22nd of October when he'll also be having the launch night, in the Liquid Ship in Glasgow. It's free entry, so make sure you make it in your diaries kids!
Would you care to introduce yourself? Hello. We are IndianRedLopez, a band from Peterhead, the North East apex of Scotland. There is a Scott, a Danny, a Dave, a Darren and a Mike.
How would you describe the music you make? Mike: I think we make evocative, dance orientated, electronically induced, distorted rock music. I think the music we make reflects all facets of our personalities, so we find it hard to pinpoint it to one specific type.
How did you start out making music? Dave: We started out in a covers band in our teens which naturally just led us into writing our own material. We've been writing and performing our own stuff in various incarnations for about 6 or 7 years now.
What process goes into the way you write songs? Dave: We don't necessarily have a process or formula to how we write music, which I think comes through in the variety of structure, content and styles of what we play. Ideas can come from a scribbled lyric in a book, hummed over a thrown together chord progression and develop pretty quickly into a fully structured song. Conversely we might have two or three directions we want to take an idea within the band and as a result one verse may go through various incarnations before it even makes it to a chorus or second verse, never mind a full song. We can often frustrate ourselves with the length of time it takes us to take an idea from inception to the stage where its ready to perform live, but I think we know the pitfalls of rushing things as well so if something needs a few more tweaks or a bit more work we're not afraid of holding it back a bit.
What can people expect from your live shows? Mike:To dance. To listen, and to watch! We made a conscious decision, when we formed this band to incorporate a visual aspect to our shows, and it’s led to us programming and coordinating them with real-time visuals, which we try to reflect the ideas spoken about in the songs. Our live shows can differ though, and often depend on the bill. We just try to reflect the show at hand. We opened for the Twilight Sad a few weeks ago, so we created this loud-ass intro and put ourselves into the spirit of that night, and when we support more electro tinged bands; we play our more dance-orientated tracks.
What are you all listening to at the moment? Dave: The new Gorillaz album, As Tall as Lions and Martha Wainwright. Mike: The new Four Tet record. Song Of Return. Errors. Bon Iver. The National. Gil Scott Heron. Placebo. Mew. Jeff Buckley. Apparat. The Album Leaf. Richard Hawley. Scott: M83. Vitalic. Also a lot of upcoming and local stuff like: Kid Canaveral. Barn Owl. Capitals. The Domino State. Vitalic. OnTheFly. In Atlanta. Darren: The National. The Blue Nile. MC5. Pavement. Hot-Chip. Elbow live at AbbeyRoad. Riceboy Sleeps Danny: Pavement. The National. Broken Social Scene.The Cribs. Beach House. Pheonix. Delphic. The Smiths. Deerhunter. Errors & Admiral Fallow.
What can we expect to see/hear from you in 2010? Mike:We’re doing a handful of Scottish dates at the end of May, so we plan to continue to tour as much as we feasibly can, and hopefully play some small festivals this year. Finish recording, and release our single and EP/mini album this year. A LOT of work basically. We’ll be updating these plans on our various Internet pages.
