Archive for 2012

Live review: Brew at the Bog 2012

Tuesday, May 8th, 2012

When did we all become completely normalised by the spectacle of both sexes pissing against the perimeter fence of a festival site? At what point did punters just accept that a couple of hundred quid for a ticket won’t get you within 50ft of a headlining act without pushing to the front at least half-an-hour before they’re due on?

It didn’t take long for Brew at the Bog to make me realise the things I don’t miss about its much larger counterparts, or that being at a music festival need not feel akin to spending the day at an international airport if the organisers take a common sense approach to freedom of movement.

But the one thing last Saturday at Bogbain Farm in Inverness confirmed more than anything else is that up-and-coming Scottish artists deserve much better than to be rounded up and confined to a T Break Stage or a Solus Tent or a Sound City Stage. Bands such as Three Blind Wolves, Fatherson, Endor and Washington Irving already have the songs and the presence to handle a main stage billing at any festival in the country, yet prime slots are instead offered to fly-by-night acts with London booking agents or, worse still, reduced to serving the purpose of competition prize and publicity stunt.

The 600 punters who attended the first ever Brew at the Bog had a choice of three stages (one outdoors, one a barn sponsored by goNORTH, the other a cosy space with chairs and tables which became increasingly popular as the unseasonably cold temperatures cruelly bit at Bogbain Farm) and a roll call of around 30 Scottish acts and a handful of foreign artists.

The distant rumble of Cherri Fosphate literally lured me away from the hot beverages on arrival and they made a great impression with their accessible guitar sound which clearly owes a lot to We Were Promised Jetpacks, but with vocals more like Robert Smith.

Café Disco brought some lively indie-pop as one of the few acts who turned up the noise in The Bothy, which was otherwise predominantly acoustic, and their newer songs came across particularly well.

Fatherson continue to be an intriguing preposition - a rock band who don’t play that loud, and one with a convincing frontman in Ross Leighton who has a canny knack of writing exceptionally good songs that lend themselves to massive singalongs. Not to mention the happiest on-stage musician I’ve ever seen in bass player Marc Strain.

Quickbeam made beautiful sounds, as they always do, but their set had to compete with a chatty crowd, and I came away thinking that festivals don’t really suit a band who play as quietly as they do. Which is very quiet, all the time.

Beerjacket also had to fight to be heard at times, but he fared much better, silencing the room with his stand-up offering of Poor Captain Of The Soul on ukulele and reaching a peak with the fast, fantastic Cave.

In a weird kind of way, watching Endor play on an outdoor stage to an audience who seemed to know all the lyrics was a dream come true for me. Their show was full of verve, they engaged the crowd and they didn’t play a song that was anything other than magnificent.

Three Blind Wolves were perhaps even more remarkable. I hadn’t ever thought of myself as a big fan of their music, but Ross Clark and his chums gave the performance of the day with their ballsy take on Americana delivered with bundles of energy and exhilaration.

Despite suffering what looked like a fairly significant technical failure, Over The Wall’s enthusiasm carried them through, their two members doing some amusing choreographed moves for one song before ending with the ever-joyful Thurso.

Washington Irving gave Brew at the Bog a send-off that will live long in the memory as main stage headliners with a set full of raucous folk-rock and Pogues-esque party spirit.

Given the awe-inspiring scenery at our disposal, it wasn’t too hard to persuade Beerjacket to let me film him playing an unreleased song called Two Travel to some horses, check it out here:

Cherri Fosphate – Passion

Fatherson – Gone Fission

Three Blind Wolves – Black Bowl Park

Over The Wall – Thurso

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Snap happy: the SoundExposed exhibition of Scottish music photography

Friday, May 4th, 2012

The beauty of gig photography is how great a leveller it is. Admittedly, privileged access and quality equipment make a massive difference but, when it really comes down to it, you use the same criteria for analysing what makes a good shot of Bono as you would for Bronto Skylift.

Pictures of both can be found within a few feet of each other at the SoundExposed exhibition in East Kilbride Arts Centre, along with a further 82 photos which either feature Scottish musicians or have been taken at a Scottish venue.

The purpose of SoundExposed is to showcase some of the best music photography in Scotland, something I’ve been proud to promote for the past few years through The Pop Cop’s annual competition.

The exhibition features the work of 18 snappers, amateur and professional, and the esteemed work of the likes of Euan Robertson, Ingrid Mur, Emily Wylde, Brian Vass and Andy Thorn and Alex Woodward might be familiar to those with a keen interest in music photography.

The gallery space is split into two rooms, with equal billing given to lesser-known and even-your-dad-would-have-head-of-them acts. If you can tell your Korn from your Carnivores, I recommend indulging in a game of ‘Guess Who?’ using the information handouts. The score to beat is 33/84.

Photographer James Gray, who has eye-catching shots of Green Day, Biffy Clyro, Kasabian, The Subways, United Fruit on display, organised SoundExposed.

James: “I was aware there were a number of photographers who had a passion for music photography and, like me, wanted to see their work displayed in its own right rather than in a gig review or on a band’s website. I pitched the idea to East Kilbride Arts Centre and they called my bluff and agreed to make their gallery available for a month-long exhibition.

“It has been a great experience organising the exhibition and there has been talk of taking it to other venues and perhaps running a similar event in the future. I already have a few ideas on some alternative themes. I would also love to get involved in some projects working with young bands and photographers to promote the importance, relevance and value of music photography.”

SoundExposed runs at East Kilbride Arts Centre until May 20 (10am-8pm daily, free entry)

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London calling

Sunday, April 29th, 2012

Once upon a time, it really did feel like the number of miles a Scottish musician lived from London was equivalent to their odds of potential success. However, that scenario has changed in the past five years or so, almost without any recognition or acknowledgement. You need only look at Scotland’s biggest exports – the likes of Biffy Clyro, Belle & Sebastian, Franz Ferdinand and Amy Macdonald – to find examples of artists who have had no trouble carving out fruitful careers while still happily residing in their countries of origin.

Nevertheless, there’s no denying London is still a starry-eyed draw for many up-and-coming musicians, which is why three young Scots are about to head to the (other) capital in pursuit of their dreams. And since the spotlight is on London in Olympic year, it seemed liked the ideal excuse to unite the trio with two former exiled Scots for a colour-coded Pop Cop feature devoted to the Big Smoke, starting with none other than Bombay Bicycle Club’s latest recruit.

AMBER WILSON

Amber Wilson has already had an eventful music career for one so young. In 2007, at the age of just 20, she was plucked from relative obscurity in Aberdeen to become temporary lead vocalist for Morcheeba, going on a European tour with the band. More recently, she has been building up her profile as a solo artist, but on May 3 she moves to Woolwich in London to take up her new role as session singer for Bombay Bicycle Club (replacing the fantastic Lucy Rose), leaping straight into a hectic live itinerary that will see her criss-cross Europe and North America.

Amber: “I opened my Gmail one day and there was an email from Adam Falkner (One Eskimo and former drummer for Amy Macdonald) asking if I’d fancy some session work in London. He’d seen me sing years ago at The Tunnels supporting Amy. He recommended me to Bombay’s manager and effectively got me the job. Thanks Adam! I went down to London and had an informal sing-song with the guys. I guess you could say it was an audition.

“I’m a bit scared but also really excited about living in London. I’m looking forward to meeting new people and fellow musicians, and seeing what the scene has to offer. In saying that, between touring and visiting home, I’m not going to be there all that much. Bombay is going to take priority just now, at least until the end of the year. I’m recording a few things with my boyfriend on my downtime and my main aim is to find a publishing deal.”

Which Olympic sport would you be best at?
Amber: “Wrestling.”

Amber Wilson – Let Down

MIKE NISBET

Oban-born singer-songwriter Mike Nisbet will move to Hackney on June 13, but the 23-year-old with the soothing voice and poignant lyrics is no stranger to London.

Mike: “I lived in London over the winter of 2009/10 and loved every minute of it. I spent six months throwing myself about the city and eventually burnt out, so I returned to Glasgow. There has always been a nagging in the back of my head calling me back to London since I bailed out. Unfinished business you might say. It’s the most incredible city I’ve ever set foot in.

“At the moment I intend to stay indefinitely. I’ll have lived in four different places within eight months once I arrive in London, so I think it’s about time I stopped. In saying that, the only constant of the past few years has been that there will be change. I’m open to whatever comes my way. There are so many places to play, people to meet and friends to be made – eight million of them. I’ve just got to trust that my tunes are worth a listen and hope people connect with them. Being honest with the music and going on gut instinct has got me this far.”

Which Olympic sport would you be best at?
Mike: “Synchronised Swimming.”

Mike Nisbet – Not Long

May 15, Bloc, Glasgow (free)
June 2, Dirty Weekender, Kilmarnock (tickets)

SIOBHAN WILSON

Since moving back to her native Scotland last year after an unexpected pop career in France, Siobhan Wilson has divided her time between playing bass for indie-rock darlings Friends In America and forging ahead with her solo craft. On May 14, she moves to London.

Siobhan: “My pals Cat, Kitty and Jenny stay in a lovely wee house with a garden in Shepherd’s Bush. I lived with them when we were teenagers at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh. I’ve been doing pop music for ages so it’ll be nice to be surrounded by some classical musicians again. Most of my friends and family live in Glasgow, Paris or London, so London means I can get to those places and anywhere else quite easily. I also heard rumours that there were more jobs in London.

“Sometimes I just move city for a bit of a change/for fun/I get restless. I am inspired by new places and people. In September 2006, I was supposed to be starting a gap year in France and I didn’t leave Paris for five years. In February 2011, I was supposed to take a six-month break in Scotland then go back to Paris and it has now been a year in Glasgow. I’ve noticed that when I’m content with my lifestyle and motivated and inspired, it gives me an energy which just makes my career go well and run smoothly. If, however, no-one in London notices me/likes my music I’ll probably just say ‘oh well’ and come back to Glasgow, defeated.”

Which Olympic sport would you be best at?
Siobhan: “Shooting.”

Siobhan Wilson – Voir Un Ami Pleurer

May 3: The Art School, Glasgow (info)
May 13: The Old Hairdressers, Glasgow

EMMA’S IMAGINATION

By the age of 26, wanderlust had already seen Emma Gillespie reside in places as far-flung as Glasgow, Cumbria, Galloway, Australia and New Zealand. But in 2010, her world turned upside down in a very different sense when she won a one-off primetime TV talent contest which resulted in her relocating to London and spending a year there (latterly in the Brick Lane area) before moving back up north.

Emma: “I got signed to a major record label (Polydor) and they told me they needed me to move down to London ASAP to record an album. It was quite a shock. Everything is much faster paced and people are generally in a rush to get to where they’re going, so you can get swallowed up in the crowd and feel like a little fish in a massive pond. I ended up staying for a year which was the perfect amount of time to make some good connections and get experience of the music industry.

“In the end, I really missed my friends and I started to feel quite lost and suffocated in London. I felt like it was wearing me down and I needed to come back to refresh my head and get some space and perspective to be able to write again. Glasgow has always felt like home to me and I love the music scene up here. I think in the past it was necessary to go to London if you wanted to ‘make it’ but nowadays everything is much more accessible because of the internet so you don’t have to move down there any more.”

Which Olympic sport would you be best at?
Emma: “High jump – I was third in Scotland for under-16s!”

Emma’s Imagination – Faerie Lights

KATIE SUTHERLAND

After signing a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell when she was 20, Katie Sutherland stayed in Kilburn, London between 2008-2010, having previously only ever lived in Glasgow and her parents’ house in Kirkintilloch.

Katie: “The first time I visited London was quite a scary experience. I was 19, had never left home before (except for a few holidays with friends), had about four songs and knew no-one. When I actually moved to London, though, I was used to it. I was already spending more than half my time there and spending a ridiculous amount of money half-living in hotels and commuting. Even the Travelodges aren’t cheap there so I decided to rent.

“By this point I had gigged constantly around Scotland by myself and picked up a very small fanbase. Now was the time to write more songs so I was sent to London for writing sessions. I could have stayed up in Glasgow and written by myself but I was eager to learn more and meet people, which, to be fair, is very important. It was never a permanent thing, just ideal for that time. I moved back two-and-a-half years ago having written about 150 songs.”