Coastal Skid Spy Wok v18.0

Apologies for how quiet things have been on here of late.  I've been a busy bee, but I'll try and get my finger out so you're not forced to read two of these notcasts in succession again!  What with guest hosts and festival specials, it's been three weeks now since I had a proper trawl through SoundCloud and shared my favourite findings with you.  So here goes...

...starting with a beautiful, bearded man with whom I enjoyed a very, very sweet victory recently.  Something I plan on repeating this Tuesday.  Scottish Fiction... you've been well warned! 

   Michael Rocket by The Pictish Trail

Yup, none other than The Pictish Trail.  Around now, he's probably just about cleaned up the last of the mess left over from last weekend's Fence Records Away Game.  From what I hear, it was predictably spectacular.   Michael Rocket will feature on Johnny's upcoming 7" EP, The Summer Is Empty Of Idiots, which you can pre-order here as part of the Buff Tracks series.  Moving onto someone I've not featured on Kowalskiy in quite a while.  I noticed recently that the lovable Ramisco Maki Maki Rocking Horse had uploaded a new, FREE track on his website.  As per usual, it's brilliant.  You can download Nowhere Know Where from his site and then head back here to have a listen to this 'orned beast from his debut album One Zero One Zero One Zero.

   My 'Orns by Ramisco Maki Maki

Strange, strange man... but we wouldn't have him any other way!  We'll continue this week's whistle-stop tour of SoundCloud with this gorgeous, new, acoustic offering from Penguins Kill Polar Bears with a little help from i build collapsible mountains.

   Scarce (Acoustic) by penguinskillpolarbears

A big surprise this one, but a very refreshing change of direction. Saying that, you still cannae beat a bit of this from February's Vessels & Veins EP which you can snap up over here.

   Lungs by Penguins Kill Polar Bears (courtesy of A Badge Of Friendship)

Now here's a lovely new one from Bottle Of Steven, him what is also in Bottle Of Evil, who "was playing around with good intent and this fell out".  True story!  It's free too, so be sure to grab a copy while you can. 

   Darkest Fools by Bottle of Steven

While I'm on topic, as I was getting those links above, I happened across this from Benbecula Records... yoink!  Right, time for one more track.  'Tis only a wee one.  You'll all know I love How To Swim.  Well, along with the wonderful trio of The Paraffins, The Plimptons and Gums! (and others of course), they've contributed to The Littlest Album 4.0, a collection of one-minute tracks available on vinyl from September.  You can pre-order it over here if this tickles your fancy.

   Condensed History of Rock (Berkeley's Folly) by How To Swim

And as I've not has Apology Corner for a while... supergroup Gums! have a free EP out which I keep forgetting to feature.  You can get your hands on it over here.  Tell them I sent you!

Define Pop Festival 3

This Saturday, Glasgow plays host to the Define Pop Festival 3.  The wonderful Define Pop has pulled out all the stops to bring you the amazing line-up you see above.  Spread across three venues in the centre of Glasgow (Stereo, The Admiral Bar and Pivo Pivo) will be the likes of Tango In The Attic, Little Yellow Ukuleles, I Build Collapsible Mountains, Aspen Tide, So Many Animal Calls and Campfires In Winter to name but a few of the cracking bands on show.  Everything kicks off at 4pm at Stereo, and tickets are available from Tickets Scotland and from Define Pop. 

As a wee incentive and/or memento of what is sure to be a great night, I've teamed up with Define Pop to bring you an extra special free Kowalskiy EP featuring a handful of the acts taking part.  Some bands regretfully had to said no, some never bothered their backsides replying and some I simply never had time to get in touch with (apologies!).   Some though, said yes, which is just as well really, or there would be no free EP!  So a huge thank you to the six bands mentioned above, and again below, for contributing.  For your free download, just click the cover art and enjoy!

 Tracklisting

1.  Tango In The Attic - Off To
2.  Little Yellow Ukuleles - Lost at Sea (acoustic)
3.  I Build Collapsible Mountains - Rails
4.  Aspen Tide - Colours
5. So Many Animal Calls - We Sleep Back To Back (acoustic)
6.  Campfires In Winter - Cardboard Ships (acoustic)

The second-from-last wee beauty on there from So Many Animal Calls was recorded this week specially for this EP.  Cheers guys!

Aye Tunes vs. Peenko 3

Remember, remember, the 5^th of November....  for that's the day that fellow Scottish music bloggers Lloyd Peenko and Jim Aye Tunes will bring their trilogy of gigs to an end with the aptly-named Aye Tunes vs. Peenko 3.  On the bill, for what I'm sure will be another amazing night of music, are I Build Collapsible Mountains, Come On Gang! and headliners The Seventeenth Century.   So if you're looking for some real fireworks, pop on down to The Classic Grand in Glasgow this Friday where these three cracking bands will be putting on a sparkling display all of their own! 

Tickets are once again available from Peenko, Tickets Scotland, or TicketWeb, with a limited amount of 2-for-1 tickets available from The Seventeenth Century here.

K&A with I Build Collapsible Mountains

Until recently, as the promo photo attests to, the identity of I Build Collapsible Mountains was a thing of great mystery. Not any more! IBCM is none other than former guitarist with The Gothenburg Address, Luke Joyce. His debut album A Month Of Lost Memories is out today on a brand-new, though somewhat-familiar-sounding record label. The press release describes it as "a thing of restrained beauty". If anything, that's underselling it! It's outstanding.

Here's Luke to tell us some more...

Kowalskiy: Who is I Build Collapsible Mountains?
Luke: IBCM is me. I am Luke. I am a singer songwriter from Edinburgh.

Kowalskiy: How did the project come about, and maybe the most obvious question.... why the name?
Luke: IBCM is something that I think has been on my mind for a while. Taking music back to its most raw, one man and his guitar, is some what of a musical detox I think. Its been refreshing to have no distractions, and to be able to concentrate on getting across my thoughts and varied wonderings via my lovely wooden geetar. The name comes from a superpower that I once claimed would be my ideal. No x-ray vision here, its all about the landscaping. Oh yeaaaaa!

Kowalskiy: For anyone that's not heard your music, how would you describe it?
Luke: Well for anyone who has heard my previous outings, its probably a bit of a shock, but a good shock I hope. There's no bells or whistles here. Its a very minimalist acoustic sound. The songs were recorded by myself in my boxroom, so they're pretty lo-fi, but I think this has maybe been part of the appeal. I think maybe it feels a little like you there towards the end of the writing process - you're in the room, at those ridiculous hours as it finally takes shape.

Kowalskiy: Who/what/where influences your music?
Luke: Its maybe a bit of a cliche, but the coast has been a big influence on these songs. I spend a lot of time there, at this untouched beach I know, just with my guitar, sitting in the reeds watching the weather turn. I suffer from high anxiety so I find it incredibly relaxing there, and I don't feel under any pressure to write the music, so I take my time and just see how I feel. I have a little tape recorder to jot down ideas. Artist wise there have been a few people who have influenced me. I listen to a lot of Tiny Vipers and other more underground American artists, and also the more recently discovered The Tallest Man On Earth. My favorite record of the past year is the Admiral Fallow album. I'm not sure its a direct influence, but its something I recommend everyone should listen to as soon as possible.

Kowalskiy: You're releasing your debut album album A Month Of Lost Memories this month on Peenko Records. What is the story behind the album, and how does it feel to be the first release on the label?
Luke: Lloyd Peenko was one of the first people to pick up on my music, before I had really started pushing it. After I started putting a number of tracks up on Bandcamp Lloyd said he would really like to put a CD out. The CD is really special. Its handmade and limited to 50, so its something for people to treasure. It also comes with awesome Peenko and IBCM badges. The Peenko label is being launched on the same day as the IBCM CD, so October 13 is going to be a landmark. The album itself is a collection of songs that are about situations and circumstances that breezed in and out of my life over the coarse of a few weeks.

Kowalskiy: As well as that, you'll be involved in Peenko vs. AyeTunes 3. What can fans expect from an IBCM live show?
Luke: Yes I'm really looking forward to this. I admire both Lloyd and Jim for their efforts in supporting local unsigned music, so its a great pleasure to be part of one of their awesome AVP nights. Although there are a few accompaniments on the record, the live shows are stripped back to the bare minimum, just me and my guitar. I hope people enjoy hearing the songs in this way as much as I enjoy playing them.

Kowalskiy: What would be your ideal gig?
Luke: Ooft. Erm. Well, the 90's were pretty good. Everything was so exciting musically back then. That bit after grunge, but before emo? That was pretty good. I would like to play at the Metro in Chicago. All the bands who I used to idolise have played their. And I love Chicago. Its a great city to visit, and the music scene is amazing. I don't think I'd want roadies. To be honest, there's nothing for them to do. I'd like to take my close circle of friends on the road though. There's no point living the experience if there's no one to share it with.

Kowalskiy: What can we expect from you in the future?
Luke: Well the CD is out on October 13^th. I am playing a few shows in Edinburgh and Glasgow and then I hope to travel a bit further afield. Then I'm putting out a Flexi single in the U.S. Hopefully in time for Xmas.

You can get your hands on one of the 50 CDs here, though if you need convinced, you can get a free download of opening track Rails here! And if you wanna catch Luke live...

Upcoming Gigs
30^th Oct - Sneaky Pete's, Edinburgh
4^th Nov - The Liquid Ship, Glasgow
5^th Nov - AvP3 @ Classic Grand, Glasgow