Happy Easter folks! Hope you enjoyed the tracks chosen last week by the wonderful Mr. K. P. Son. Since I've had almost two weeks off from doing this notcast lark, there's been a load of new songs on SoundCloud that I'm itching to share with you. As has become the norm, here's half-a-dozen for you with some textual babble thrown in for good measure.
Kicking things off this week is a song which I've played on loop since it was uploaded. Like many Scottish bands, Edinburgh's Letters have been busy over the last few weeks uploading their trio of T Break entries. If they're not on the bill this summer on the back of their three tracks, then the world will have officially gone doolally! Here's one of them, the title track from their upcoming debut EP, Older Motion Pictures.
Now, don't tell me you're not impressed. Seriously... don't! This band is supoib! It's funny how things turn out sometimes. After I'd favourited that track, and said favouritation was sent around twitter, I got chatting to another band who, up 'til then, had flown under my radar. But no more thanks to their impressive early demos. A name to take note of folks... The Beautiful Lies.
And this next chap ain't half bad either. Nice chap too. All those months/years ago, Paul Kelly was one of the five artists I emailed asking if they'd like to road test an idea I had - to be on the first of my free monthly 5-track Scottish EPs. He, or rather, The Martial Arts, said yes and kindly allowed me to help unleash the demo of Empty Out Here on the world. Well, it's been almost 2 years but he's now got two more for us. It's a toughie, but here's my favourite of the pair. Both are free by the way!
Right, not wanting to sound like a miserable bastard, but it's no coincidence that if you say T in the Park backwards, it kinda sound like Crap, innit? The only reason you'd get me anywhere near Balado these days is for T Break. Especially given one of the other sets I've been listening to. I assume it's for T Break submission anyway. Why Trapped Mice still fulfill the 'unsigned' criterion to enter is a fucking travesty! Still, they are, so for now lets just be thankful that we're getting to hear their three new tracks. You have no idea how tempted I was to finish off the notcast with all three, but I resisted.
That's yer Trapped Mice lot! The other two tracks can be heard over here. Two more then that's your notcast lot for the week too. I should probably stop favouriting tracks to be honest since it probably gives you an idea what I'm gonna include here. So it may come as no surprise, but I love the latest single from Aerials Up. The Old and the Innocent is out now and you can get your grubby mitts on it over here.
Signing us off this week we have someone who just launched her new album last night in Edinburgh. By all accounts, the night was pretty special, and so too is the album itself. I am of course talking about The Seed by Plum a.k.a. Shona Maguire. You can buy the album here. To whet your appetite in the meantime, have a listen to the title track below. 'Til next week...
How 'bling' does that look?!! Very 'Beyonce' if you ask me, which is strange given my complete indifference to R 'n' B, and lack of it on the EP, or any of my EPs for that matter. So the cover art may not match the great mix of tracks on the EP but I'm sure you'll enjoy it nevertheless as once again five of the country's best up-and-coming bands have been kind enough to contribute a track. You know the drill by now, but if not, click the cover art to get your free download. Here's the five cracking bands on KEP#14...
1. Black International - Dead Languages (An exclusive unreleased track from the brilliant Edinburgh three-piece.)
"This is one of the first songs Black International ever rehearsed. The lyrics had popped into my head fully formed one night when I was in that weird dream zone between being awake and asleep, and luckily I kept a notepad beside my bed in case of any nocturnal revelations. It's intentionally 'dumb' musically, and the words are a tongue in cheek vignette about a couple forging a relationship in the midst of cultural decline, or something like that. We recorded this demo in 2008, and it was dropped from the set not long after, never to return. I still quite like the economy of it, the whole thing's done and dusted in under 2 minutes, almost child-like in its simplicity. A little piece of bubblegum pop." - Stewart Allan (Black International)
2. Negotiations. - Tiger Heartbeat (Third time Mr. Healy has contributed, and it's another belter. This time with a cracking cover of mitchell museum.)
"I normally play in Loch Awe, but here's something completely different. I played everything on this. Thanks to Mitchell Museum for letting me cover their incredible song, and to Oliver Roditi for his invaluable help with mixing." - Matthew Healy (Negotiations.)
3. Aerials Up - I Am ('Tis my great pleasure to bring you this amazing live version of this unreleased track.)
"We didn't have a demo version of 'I Am' so we decided to get a live recording, pretty soon after it was written a few months ago. It was our first proper attempt at writing a love song. We'd tried before, but it always came across as a bit cheesy or cliched. But this time we got started with a few good lyrics, a couple of nice riffs and it all came together from there." - Aerials Up
4. Edinburgh School For The Deaf - Mantra (Yet another unreleased gem - a fragile demo from Edinburgh's finest noisters.)
"This was one of three we recorded off the cuff. We usually get a rough idea of a song then go about destroying it until we're happy. This one seemed a little too sentimental and fragile to put it to the guillotine as it may have killed it stone dead, so we left it as it is. And as it is it didn't seem to fit anywhere on the album. So there you have it." - Jamie (Edinburgh School For The Deaf)
5. The Ramisco Maki Maki Rocking Horse - Or My Bones (My love and admiration for this strange, strange man have no bounds! Another 90-seconds of perfect, acoustoblasting pop joy.)
"As a man of the hoof, I believe we all have cracks in our universes, some too small to see with the naked eye, some so big we can fit someone else's universe in it tenfold. A universe can present you with opportunity and cover you in awesome sauce or it can swallow you whole and leave you to clean up your own dribble while the shithawks peck at your eyes. This track is leaning towards the pecking of my eyes and that's why you may find me, or my bones, in the sea." - Ray (The Ramisco Maki Maki Rocking Horse)
Not too shabby if I don't say so myself! As always, it's FREE, so head on over to my bandcamp page now to get your download. Have a wee look at the other 13 while you're at it!
Next month there'll be more of the same, five great free tracks from Scotland's finest! If any bands out there fancy making my life that wee bit easier by volunteering a track for one of these EPs, then send me a wee email too and see if it tickles my fancy. Enjoy!
With the last of the mud being chipped off wellies up and down the country, 'Festival Season' is just about over for another year. So it's time to take a wee trip back and relive some of the Scottish highlights from the daddy of them all courtesy of the good folk over at Radio Magnetic. They had an access-all-areas pass at this years T Break stage at T in the Park and have an impressive collection of free tracks, playlists and videos to show for it.
The 16 bands chosen to play the T Break stage this year were...
It's perhaps no surprise, but here are my favourites. You can have a wee listen and if they take your fancy, you can download then for free. The other 13 bands' tracks can be downloaded over here.
The full playlists for each band are also up on the Radio Magnetic Mixcloud page, with acoustic sessions on their YouTube site featuring PAWS, Reverieme and Boycotts. Consider yourself spoiled rotten!
God only knows why I haven't gotten around to featuring the wonderful Aerials Up on here yet. But, with their debut Superglue EP racking up all sorts of airplay and acclaim, it's about time I threw my hat into the ring! The EP is an absolute joy to listen to... over and over again. With it, we could very well be witnessing the gorgeous, melodic, epic rise of Scotland's new favourite band. You have been warned!
Over to them to tell you a wee bit about Aerials Up...
Kowalskiy: Who are Aerials Up?
Aerials Up: We're a seven piece band from Glasgow and Dublin.
Kowalskiy: How did the band get together, and what's the story behind the name?
Aerials Up: Hmm.. long story. The band weren't really 'formed' as such. Three members were left over from another band and everyone else kind of came along one at a time. We've all been slogging away in loads of different bands for years so everyone was really on the same page when we kind of found each other. The name is pretty much two words that Kemy always thought sounded nice I think.
Kowalskiy: You're one of the hottest up-and-coming bands in Scotland just now. You were chosen to play at Snow Patrol's HUGE Bellahouston Park gig, a venue 'rocked' by the likes of Coldplay, Subo and The Pope. You'll be one of a select few to play this years TBreak Stage at T in the Park, and your EP is racking up airplay and critical acclaim since its release. Not really sure what my question is... What do you make of it all?
Aerials Up: Hmm.. We're not sure really! We get asked about stuff we've done in the past all the time but to be honest it's not really something we think about much, we tend to focus way more on the things we all still want to do. We've had a lot of luck in the past with people being into the band and stuff but we're most proud of things that we've managed to achieve ourselves that haven't been so easy. T Break is huge for us, we're very proud to have been picked. Getting the EP out on our own but still getting such a good reaction to it and airplay from the BBC and stuff is amazing as well.
Kowalskiy: Speaking of the EP, what'd be your sales pitch for anyone out there who hasn't gotten their hands on it yet?
Aerials Up: I think for us it just represents a period in time that we want to share with people. We had a hard time getting it out and we were going through a lot of transition both in the way we wanted to do things as a band but also musically. There's a couple of really upbeat, poppy tracks that kind of reflect the sound we made our name with but also a more edgy song that's really important to us all and kind of a newer sound. We want to move forward from here with a kind of balance of the two vibes so hopefully the EP reflects that.
Kowalskiy: You've been touring the EP a fair bit recently. Is there much more to come this year?
Aerials Up: For sure yeah. We're on our way to play at the Solas festival at the moment. We've a few more shows before T in the Park and then we're headlining one of the King Tut's Summer Nights shows in July, playing The Liquid Rooms as part of the Edge Festival, and plenty more gigs before summer's out. We've some announcements still to make too, watch this space!
Kowalskiy: Aerials Up have been gathering a reputation as one of the finest live bands in Scotland. How would you describe a typical Aerials Up gig?
Aerials Up: We've been dabbling with a more stripped back, almost acoustic vibe on the road a bit recently but where we most feel at home is on a big stage, loud and proud. A typical gig for us is just a big sound, loads of strings, big drums, and people singing along, hopefully enjoying it as much as we do!
Kowalskiy: What would be your ideal gig?
Aerials Up: It's maybe kind of a lame answer but one thing that's still on my list is to play the Barrowlands at home in Glasgow. I've been lucky enough to play most places that I've wished for but that's definitely still on the list. It's had a bit of a hard time I think with more modern venues appearing but as a kid I just loved it, i'd go most weeks and saw so many of my favourite bands there so it's pretty special. We went to see Frightened Rabbit's homecoming show there in December and it was amazing, it seemed to mean so much to everyone that they were playing there and yeah, I'd definitely like to experience that!
Kowalskiy: Some may know, that the band was formed after the demise of The Ads. I had the pleasure of seeing them at The Mill and The Sauchiehall Crawl many moons ago. 'Superglue' was originally performed back in the Ads days and given the Aerials Up reworking. If you could pick one track from any band in the world and give it the Aerials Up treatment, what would it be?
Aerials Up: We actually had a go at Kate Bush's 'Cloudbusting' for a session on Vic Galloway's show a while back and it went down really well so we've played it at a few gigs but it's time for something new. We've got a couple of ideas but don't wanna give anything away just yet...
Kowalskiy: What else can we expect from Aerials Up in the future?
Aerials Up: We really want to record again once festival season wraps up, I guess that'll be the next main thing from us, another single or two..
Kowalskiy: Here's a topical one. Is Andy Murray ready to win Wimbledon? Discuss. Aerials Up: Hmmm... you're kind of asking the wrong person to be honest. Sure, he's been busting his ass for ages right? I kinda feel a bit sorry for him though, must be hard to represent an country in a sport they're not very fussed about.
Kowalskiy: Anything you'd like to add? Any juicy gossip or embarrassing band-related facts you're itching to reveal?
Aerials Up: Nope!
Spoilsports! Anyway, it's time now to have a wee listen to the EP below...
You can get your hands on a physical copy of the Superglue EP direct from the band here, or over on iTunes. If you fancy catching the band live, here's where they'll be in the near future...
Time to clear the holiday weekend backlog! If you were lucky enough to be knee-deep in mud at T in the Park this year, you might have seen this cracking band on the BBC Introducing Stage on Sunday. I can only echo what everyone else seems to be saying... expect great things from Aerials Up.
Download: Aerials Up - Live at T in the Park (11/07/10)
Tracklisting 1. First In The Fire 2. Stay Awake 3. Superglue
Someone doesn't appear to like this post, so the link has been removed!
Last night was a pretty special one for music! As I was making my way back from Wolf Parade's gig at Oran Mor, elsewhere in Glasgow, countless others would have been at Mono listening to the mighty Meursault play at the Song, by Toad Records Showcase event, or The Seventeenth Century playing Nice'n' Sleazy's. Over in Edinburgh, my new favourites Curators were playing Cabaret Voltaire, and tucked away in the BBC Radio 1 Scotland studio, Glasgow 10-piece Aerials Up were recording a stunning live session for the one-and-only Vic Galloway.
If you've not heard them before, they really are pretty special!
To kick off my A to Z of Scottish music it has to be Arab Strap. It's hard to look past the dark songwriting genius of Malcolm Middleton and Aidan Moffat, perhaps summed up best in Malcolm's alternative Christmas single "We're All Going To Die".
Also in the running were newcomers Aerials Up (more-so for their previous incarnation, The Ads). Well worth visiting their MySpace to have a listen to their new sound! mp3: Arab Strap - Cherubs mp3: Malcolm Middleton -We're All Going To Die mp3: Aidan Moffat & The Best Ofs - Big Blonde
Kowalskiy is taking an indefinite break from blogging.
David
Kowalskiy's Free EP Download...
Battle Of The Bands... Scores after round 11
A well-earned 'away' draw between my boys The Mouse That Ate The Cat and Neil's Where We lay Our Heads means that going into 2013, Team Kowalskiy has a one-point lead!
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