Friday Freebies

GoldFlakePaint
One of my favourite non-Scottish blogs, GoldFlakePaint celebrated their second birthday last week. To mark the occasion they have compiled a cracking wee compilation album featuring some of their favourite artists. Released on limited edition CD and as a free download, the compilation features tracks from some cracking artists, including a few Scottish acts such as PAWS, Sparrow & The Workshop and Loch Awe. You can download the album for free via Bandcamp, also while you're at it check out GoldFlakePaint's site as it comes highly recommended.



Part-Time Waitress
That Jill from Sparrow & The Workshop certainly has knack of cropping on exciting new musical projects. Not only does she front one of the best bands in Scotland, she also appears on the excellent forthcoming from the Grand Gestures. As if that wasn't enough she's recorded a song with mysterious outfit by the name of Part Time Waitress. I'm pretty confident that some of the boys from John Knox Sex Club are involved in the project, but so far I haven't been able to find anything on the web to confirm my suspicions. All you need to know is that there is a whole host of free tunes up for grabs in exchange for tweet here.

  Part-Time Waitress - 3 (MP3 FREE DOWNLOAD) by Part-Time Waitress

FatCat
If you head on over to the FatCat homepage you will find yourself a whole heap of free MP3 goodness, including tracks from U.S. Girls, Milk Maid, PAWS, Hauschka and Odonis Odonis. Thanks to The Beautiful Lies for the tip off - much appreciated gents!

Cleavers
Elgin's noisiest sons, Cleavers, are giving away 3 songs as a free download on their Bandcamp page. If you're going to be at this years goNorth, then you catch the boys at Detour's Offical Showcase gig on the Thursday alongside Olympic Swimmers, Lady North and DARC.



The Last Battle
Ahead of the release of their new single, Hope Is Gold, Edinburgh outfit The Last Battle have posted up a free download of a home recorded demo version of their song 'Viv Nicholson', which featured on last years The Springwell E.P. You can catch them playing live at Pilrig St Paul's Church in Edinburgh on the 22nd of June with support from the 'mysterious' William Henry Miller, Star Wheel Press and Where We Lay Our Heads.

  Viv Nicholson (Acoustic Demo) by thelastbattlemusic

Gaz Coombes
This is the first that I have heard of former Supergrass frontman, Gaz Coombes solo material and I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised. Whether I'll ever find the time to listen to his album, Here Come The Bombs, I don't know, the one thing I do know is that Sub Divider which is taken from it, is a cracking wee tune and it's also free to download via Amazon.

Wolves Of Winter
I have to admit that Wolves Of Winter debut single, The Art of Temptation, didn't do all that much for me, but their new single The Thaw might just make me change my mind about them. The only downside is that they've just released a dark wintery song in the middle of the week that is our summer. You can download The Thaw for free from Bandcamp.





The Little Mill of Happiness
Up and coming Invernesian outfit, The Little Mill of Happiness, are giving away an exclusive unreleased track to anyone who signs up to their mailing list. With a promise not to spam you unless it's to let you know about gigs and other free downloads that they have to offer you can hardly say no. Fans of Tom Waits, Joy Division and Dinosaur Jnr might want to take note.

Saint Max
I don't half post some downbeat tunes at times, I'm not such a misery guts in real life, honest. I do like a good up beat tune that makes me want to dance (who doesn't). If you're looking for a great wee pop tune to soundtrack this sunny weather we're enjoying, then look no further than Saint Max. There's everything from 60's pop to a bit of ska going on in their track A Life Worth Living, which is free to download on SoundCloud.

  A Life Worth Living (Band) by Saint Max

Thank You So Nice
In case you missed Boab's 62 Word Review yesterday, you should check out his review of the new EP from Edinburgh outift, Thank You So Nice. If you want to know what they sound like then you can either read his review, or you can just stream the EP on their Bandcamp page, or you could do both. Yes, that would make the most sense. Shit. I am rambling again, that's what being woken up at half five does to me...



Poor Things
Perth indie-popsters Poor Things have another free demo up for grabs on their SoundCloud page, it's full of lo-fi goodness so get downloading if you know what's good for you.

  Schoolhouse song DEMO by POOR THINGS

Betatone Distraction
Fresh from being hand picked to support Graham Coxon at his recent Glasgow show, Betatone Distraction have decided to make their Process Replaces Content EP free to download. If you like what you hear then you can catch them live tomorrow night at Pivo Pivo in Glasgow.

A Mighty Ramble (Possibly Featuring Some News)

Scotland noisiest duo, Bronto Skylift have just announced details of their forthcoming Scottish tour with Lady North. Having released their new single, 'Positive Gentleman' on limited edition cassette on CATH Records, as part of this years Record Store Day. Iain and Nial are going to be hitting up Edinburgh, Dundee, Inverness, Thurso and Aberdeen this coming May. Full details on tickets and dates can be found in the bands Facebook page.

Up and coming Edinburgh outfit, Urvanovic, are set to release their debut single, Bubblewrap on 16th June. In anticipation of it's release they've made this rather cracking video to go with it. If this is the standard of things to come then I look forward to hearing more.

My fellow blogger friend Stu Lewis really has caught the bug for putting on gigs, fresh from running Avalanches evening Record Store gig bonanza, he's just announced the next in his series of The Tidal Wave of Indifference Presents gigs which will take place on Saturday the 23d of June at the Wee Red Bar in Edinburgh. This time round he's roped in a whole host of talent, including hot new Edinburgh outfit The Bad Books, who I have yet to hear, but have been promised big things. Plus Peenko favourites Loch Awe, with The Spook School and The New Fabian Society completing the bill. You've got to give the boy credit, he certainly knows how to pull a line up together. Further information on the gig can be found here.

On Thursday the10th of May, CAOS Calling, are putting on a charity event in order to raise funds for CAOS, Community Arts that's based out in Clydebank. Performing on the night you have Jo Mango, Open Swimmer, Blochestra and also spoken word performances by Drew Taylor and comedy from Duncan Graham. Tickets for the gig are just £7 on the door or you can buy one in advance here..

Rather than releasing his new single on a boring old product such as a CD or 7" vinyl. The Pictish Trail has instead opted to go with something a wee bit novel and has decided to release his a brand new single, Of Course You Exist, as part of a download bundle in which you purchase his T-shirt or Sweatshirt from the Fence Records website and you get the songs chucked in to boot. Having picked up one of those 'snazzy' jumpers at Eye O The Dug, I can vouch for their cosiness. The Pictish Trail is all set to release a new EP in July with an album following later in the year. You can catch Johnny playing live at the CCA in Glasgow with  Kid Canaveral and Johnny Common on the 3rd of May. He'll then be back in our dear green city on May 13 when he headlines the next Peas 'n' Loaf night at the Old Hairdressers (across from Stereo) with French Wives and Siobhan Wilson.

  Of Course You Exist by The Pictish Trail

 

To finish off this massive rambling post we have the new video for King Creosote and John Hopkins new song, 'Third Swan', which was released on 7" as part of this years Record Store Day celebrations. Having queued up an ungodly hour of the morning last Saturday, I am pretty chuffed that I managed to get my paws on a copy. The song also features on the Jubilee Edition of the re-release of the Mercury and SAY Awards nominated album, Diamond Mine. I can't think of a better way to sign off than to leave you with this little gem...

Friday Freebies

Field Music
To kick this weeks freebies off we have one of the most under-rated bands in the UK, Sunderland's finest sons have just announced that their their fourth album, Plumb, will be out in February next year. As a wee teaser they've made the song "(I Keep Thinking About) A New Thing" free to download from their website.

The Fruit Tree Foundation
After the success of last year's First Edition album, Rod Jones of Idlewild fame has done something a bit different this year, as they've launched a new mentoring programme which saw Rod Jones, James Yorkston and Withered Hand, pairin up with aspiring singer-songwriters, Liz Cronin, Marie Collins and Lucy Cathcart Frödén (from Tall Tales/Social Services) to create two songs each. The results of which are pretty damn impressive, you don't need to take my word for it though as you can download the EP for free via The Skinny's website.

The Jezabels
This Australian outfit are already being heavily tipped as ones to watch in 2012, having caught them a couple of months back in Tuts I am still not fully sold. You can make your own mind up though by downloading their track 'Try Colour' for free here.

Lil Daggers
Having released their King Corpse EP on Song, by Toad Records, the Miami back are now gearing up for the release of their debut album on 5th December 2011. You can download a free taster here.

Scottish Fiction EP
Up and coming blogger, Scottish Fiction has just posted up his latest free EP on Bandcamp, this month he's got free tunes from Trapped Mice, Plastic Animals, Donna Maciocia and Supermarionation.

Loch Awe
Yes, I know it says that this a by a band called Negotiations, but trust me this is a free download of a new demo track by Edinburgh folk-noise outfit Loch Awe. Grab it here.

Oh You Dancer!
I am a bit late with this freebie, but here's a free a download of a Halloween inspired track by Oh You Dancer! the electronic brainchild of Jamie 'Daisuke' Sturt of scottish alt-folk band This Silent Forest and post-rock-hardcore band Atlas.

Little Victories
The Glasgow based indie/electro/dance collaboration featuring Kev Sherry (Attic Lights) producer and multi- instrumentalist Jim Lang (Malcolm Middleton, Mona, Echo & The Bunnymen) have made their new single 'Killing Me, Killing You' free to download on Bandcamp.

Three Blind Wolves
Ahead of their US Tour, Glasgow folk-rockers, Three Blind Wolves have released a free acoustic album which you can download here.

Guided By Voices
Having reformed just last year, GBV have just announced that they've also been recording new material with a new album 'Let's Go Eat the Factory', set for release in January 2012. If you head over to Stereogum when you can download a free new tune.

Nettwerk Fall Music Sampler
Free samplers can be a good way to find out about new music, I haven't had a chance to listen back to this sampler, but seeing it features Ladytron I am sure it's bound to be half decent. Just head over to Amazon where you can download it for free.

David Lynch and Karen O
On paper it's a fucking mental proposition, on record it's a mental as you think it might sound, but somehow the combination works. The track, “Pinky’s Dream" was specially recorded for My Lynch’s Crazy Clown Time LP, you can grab it here.

Johnny Foreigner
I genuinely thought that Johnny Foreigner had chucked it on years ago, so it's good to know that they're still going. You can download their new single 'Feels Like Summer' for free here.

Drums of Death
The electronic outfit have made available a free download of their song ‘Cold Lazarus’ in return for a ‘Like’ on Facebook.

Loch Awe - Fresh Air Session

"While most Scottish bands can be picked out from the 'happy tunes, miserable lyrics' school of thought, Loch Awe have a more traditional Scottish sound. The band popped into Fresh Air to play us a few tracks from their debut album 'Artificial Life From A Digital Sea' which is available free at their bandcamp and a couple of brand new tracks. Despite having only played one gig since forming in the summer, based on the strength of the album they're definitely a band to watch out for!"

Track Listing
1. How It Began
2. Ocean In Me
3. Resign
4. Do No Harm
5. 'untitled'

Download

Fresh Meat Monday - Loch Awe

Would you care to introduce yourself?

Hi, we’re Matthew, Jack and Joy, we’re Edinburgh University students and collectively we go by the name Loch Awe.


How would you describe the music you make?

Like a small bear wrestling a black hole; entirely unable to comprehend the predicament, but prepared to fight to the death anyway. Or, ‘Mexican sexy-folk’. Basically, the only serious answer we have is “folky”.


How did you start out making music?

We’ve all been musicking about for a few years, and decided that – as we were doing nothing else productive this summer – we should get together to write and record an album in two weeks, which we did. It was fairly frenetic and entirely unprofessional, but we’re pretty happy with the results.


What process goes into the way you write songs?

For this record, as we were doing the whole ‘two weeks’ thing, it was essentially just one of us laying down the bare bones of a track, and then handing it over to the other two to embellish. We’re not totally sure how future songs are going to be written, but we can theorise it’ll be some variation on this theme.


What can people expect from your live shows?

We’ve not actually played live yet because we’ve only been together since the end of July, but we’re working on a light show and dance routine. Something along the lines of Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’ dance would be awesome. Hopefully we’ll have our first gig in the next month or so and then we’ll be able to answer the question fully.


What are you all listening to at the moment?

Matthew: I recently discovered the Youngblood Brass Band, who I’ve been spinning non-stop. Local band-wise I’ve been listening to So Many Animal Calls’ debut EP, Reverie’s album ‘Melodies’ and the demos for Andrew Lindsay’s next EP.
Jack: I’ve been listening to a pretty eclectic mix of Hank Williams Sr., CAN, Lambchop, The Impressions, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Howling Wolf and Boards of Canada.

Joy: I’ve been listening to slightly more mainstream stuff than the other two. Mainly Eels, Radiohead’s ‘The Bends’, Sufjan Stevens, Apocalyptica, Joanna Newsom and The Kinks.


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

Well our first album ‘Artificial Life from a Digital Sea’ is being released for free on our Bandcamp page on August 30th, so that’s probably the main thing. As we said before we’ll be trying to get a few gigs on the go. As we’re all such massive workaholics we’ll probably try and record an EP or another album at some point.


Locha Awe - The Ocean in Me

Bandcamp
Facebook

Friday Freebies

Loch Awe
I guess I say this a lot, possibly too much(?), but sometime things pop into my inbox that generally catch me off guard. The latest young scamps to catch me off guard were Edinburgh folk outfit Loch Awe, they remind me a lot of bands like Foxface or even a bit of Meursault, it's indie pop with a Celtic tinge. I'm probably not doing it much justice, instead of reading my ramblings you should check out their debut album, 'Artificial Life from a Digital Sea' which is free to download on their Bandcamp page.

The Last Battle
Their debut album 'Heart of the Land, Soul of the Sea' comes out on the 4th of October, as a taster of what you can expect the Edinburgh folk troupe have posted a live EP up for free download on their Bandcamp page.

Pink Pills
The Edinburgh artists new EP 'Shackled Visions' is out to buy now on his Bandcamp, if you get in early enough you can buy a t-shirt and download the EP for just a fiver. A free download of the title track is up for free download on there too, get downloading here.

Sufjan Stevens
After surprising as all with his 'All Delighted People EP' the other week, Mr Stevens has already given us a wee taster of what we can expect from his forthcoming album 'The Age of Adz'. He's very kindly posted up 'I Walked' from it up for free download on his Bandcamp.

Dan Lyth
The Fife singer songwriter has just released new EP, 'Some Of My Friends' Songs', a collection of re-imagined versions of songs written by his friends. It includes tracks originally penned by The Scottish Enlightenment, Craig Rennie and Kilmory Day Trip and it can be downloaded for free on his Bandcamp page, it even comes with an essay on the perils of attempting 'cover versions'.

I Like Where I Live
This freebie comes courtesy of David from Glasgow band Galleries, being the talented fella that he is, he also does some solo electronica stuff. Following up on the success of last years 'Co-ordinates EP', he's just posted up new 'I Do Remember', which you can get your mucky paws on free by clicking the link.

The Cinnamons
The band have released single number four, 'Soul For Sale' from their summer long project '5 Song of Summer' in which they will release 5 singles though out the summer months, followed by an E.P. Launch in October. The songis now up for free download though Bandcamp, if this is the first you have heard of the project, check out the link where you can download the previous 3 singles, 'Welcome To The Business', 'Leave If You Want To' & 'Where We're Going (This Shit Don't Matter) also for free.

Arran Arctic
A brand spanking new Arran Arctic single is now up for you to download for free. The new single is called 'Interrupt Me', you can get yourself a copy for free on his homepage, there's also a wee animated video to go with it, watch it here.

The Boy Who Trapped The Sun
Is it just me or do I seem to post a free TBWTTS trakc every other week? Not that I am complaining mind you! This one is a link to an interview he did for a website called Blagsound, if you scroll to the bottom then you can download his track 'Golden' completely gratis.

Yellow Ostrich
This freebie comes courtesy of long time reader, 'mudville', so mind and say thanks to him if you like it. Yellow Ostrich (Alex Schaaf) is the lead singer of the indie band The Chairs and he's posted a whole host of EP's up for free download on his Bandcamp.

Edwyn Collins
This is due to go live today, so if the link isn't there when this post goes up try again a bit later. In what is a series of compilation of ‘Birdsong’ themed music, this is number seven in the series and it has been compiled by our very own Edwyn Collins. To get a copy you will need to sign up to their mailing list to receive the newsletter and download link at some point today, so be quick.

Perfect Chaos
It's not often that I find myself mentioning Death Metal on here, I guess this might well be the first and last time that I do. If that's your kind of thing, then Perfect Chaos are giving away their song 'The Black and the Spectrum' for free in exchange for a tweet or a Facebook post.

The Peenko Show on Fresh Air - Episode #3 (18/08/10)

Tracks Played
1. Cancel the Astronauts - Funny For A Girl
2. Where We Lay Our Heads - No Glamour
3. Deathpodal - Every Superstition Shall Be Removed
4. Panda Su - Eric Is Dead
5. I Build Collapsible Mountains - Rails (session track)
6. Loch Awe - The Ocean In Me
7. The Last Battle - Ruins
8. Miaoux Miaoux - Knitted
9. Martin John Henry - I Love Map
10. Golden Oldie; Joesphine - This Is Not An Exit
11. Come On Gang! - Fortune Favours The Brave (session track)
12. My Kappa Roots - The Lord Of Rosyth
13. The Burns Unit - Trouble
14. The Unwinding Hours & RM Hubbert - Spirit Ditch (Sparklehorse cover)

I Build Collapsible Mountains - photo by David Canaveral

The last in my run of shows on Fresh Air and what a way to go out, once again I had David from Kid Canaveral in to talk mince with me and basically try and keep me in check. I don't think he quite managed it, although he did make me apologise for my comments about folk who downloaded a charity album for free. Plus on top of all of that we had I Build Collapsible Mountains and Come On Gang! in to play some songs and have a bit of a blether.
Hopefully there will be more shows in the future, watch this space.....

The Peenko Show On Fresh Air - Episode #3 (18/08/10) by Peenko on Mixcloud