Thoughts on the Coming Year
This is just a brief list of some stuff I’m looking forward to in the Edinburgh music scene over the coming year. I don’t intend to be parochial about this, or too narrow, but I am not as close to the precise ins and outs of what’s happening in the rest of the country so there’s a limit to what I can meaningfully say about what’s going on there. It’s not meant to be exhaustive either, just some thoughts pottering about at the front of my mind.
New Labels
Last year saw the first steps made by a couple of new labels in Edinburgh, Kilter and Mini50. With Song, by Toad Records virtually at capacity in terms of labour and money, and 17 Seconds and SL Records also really busy, these two new labels should have a pretty free hand in terms of first dibs on emerging bands this year.
Kilter have already showed the quality of their work with the beatiful eagleowl single in December, so in that sense they’re a slight step ahead. Mini50 have been negotiating with some of the newer bands to emerge in the last year or so though, and album releases by the likes of Mammoeth should give a really solid foundation to their launch. Basically, this is great news for the city’s young bands.
Jeffrey Lewis – Don’t Let the Record Label Take you out to Lunch
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The New Generation of Bands
Whilst I’m talking about the newer bands to emerge last year, there is a definite gap forming in the local musical ecosystem. The fact that Broken Records and now Meursault and Withered Hand have graduated to an audience both nationwide and beyond leaves an opportunity for one of the new generation to make a mark locally.
With a single and an EP already to their name, Jesus H. Foxx are slightly further ahead in their development, but with the very promising emergence of bands like the Pineapple Chunks, Conquering Animal Sound and the Last Battle there is the opportunity for a band from the new generation to progress to the stage where they will obviously and easily be able to fill small venues like Sneaky Pete’s and whatever the Roxy management turn the old Bowery space into.
David Bowie – All the Young Dudes
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The New Roxy
And while we’re on the subject of the Roxy, Rupert Thomson, former Skinny editor, has been appointed to run the entire building in the new year. I have a lot of time for Rupert, so I am really hopeful that he can carry on the development of what is pretty clearly the best gig space for small bands and promoters in the city. In the absence of Ruth and Jane the place will inevitably have a very different atmosphere, but it is still easily the best space of its type around, so I really hope the new team can continue to foster the underground scene in the capital with the same kind of devotion and sympathy which Ruth brought to the place. And very nice that they now have a one o’clock license, which is very fortuitous timing indeed for the new venture.
Tom Waits – New Coat of Paint (Live)
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Descent of the Digital Press Locusts
Last year saw the formation of so many new blogs in Scotland it made my head spin. In fact it actually made me feel like an established veteran. With respected indie publications like Bearded and Plan B swinging the axe on their print editions and also retreating to the web, we are getting closer to the American press model every day.
In the States there are basically no music magazines left, so labels and bands take blogs way, way more seriously, because we are pretty much the only people left who are addressing their audience. In the UK there are still some excellent music magazines – Clash, Word, The Stool Pigeon and so on – but glossies like the NME, Q and Uncut are really becoming embarrassingly bad. Personally I would be surprised if the year passed without a high profile music press casualty, which means that the playing field is unusually open for blogs and other digital publications. And with the death of music television beyond the insultingly stupid X-Factor and its diseased ilk, pretty much the only music television which exists in the UK is now online.
This general trend could lead to a fairly considerable shift in how online publications are treated over the next year or so and, instead of being considered amateur or grassroots or DIY, we could end up being as close to mainstream as it actually gets in the indie world.
The Clash – Career Opportunities
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That Extra Step
Glasvegas were probably the last really big band to come out of Scotland, in terms of sheer audience size. Frightened Rabbit, depending on their next album, could follow in their footsteps over the next twelve months. Do any of the Edinburgh bands, I find myself wondering, have it in them to follow in their footsteps? Are we likely to ever see the likes of Withered Hand, Meursault or Broken Records get anywhere near a late evening slot on the main stage at a major festival anytime soon? It would be nice to think so, wouldn’t it.
Aileen Loy & Blue Valentines – Big in Japan
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conquering animal sound and last battle left me almost speechless when i saw them live.
I think your point about music TV is illustrated by the online video live session explosion we’ve seen over the last year or so.
Alongside the Toad Sessions and Off The Beaten Tracks in Edinburgh, it’s great that you can also now get your live music sessions delivered to you on demand from sheds, bandstands, balconies and black cabs up and down the land.
It’s also good to see the bands so keen to take part and get into the spirit of the idea.
A bit of cross-referencing and cross-pollination between the different session hosts over the coming year could see it develop into a very significant movement.
It’s at this level that tips for coming year make sense, nice piece matthew.
I look forward to seeing what happens with the Roxy, always good to look to the future with these things rather than dwelling on the murkiness of what’s gone on before – good news about the extended licensing hours.
I’d like to see something new and exciting on the live music front. Local music is well supported and we get the touring bands but I miss Hobo, Fast, I Fly Spitfires, Dogtooth et al – there’s not really the same sense of curation with any of the nights in Edinburgh for me these days. Perhaps I’m just getting old…
Good to see you looking forward to the Kays album then.
But thanks for the mini50 shout.
Did anyone else hear the surreal moment when eagleowl and meursault were namechecked on bbc radio scotland’s RADIO CAFE by Olaf Furniss?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00pl8mn/The_Radio_Cafe_05_01_2010/ (40 minutes 40 seconds in)
The woman afterwards is a bit of an idiot.
And before anyone says anything – I was kidding.
There are pages on this site that date back to 2007 where Matthew despairs at the lack of anything happening in Edinburgh and mentions a band called Meursault who he still wants to see live…..my how things have changed….lets keep it up.
That, Scotty, was before I’d really picked away at the veneer. As it was, I was looking at King Tut’s and ABC2 and getting a little frustrated at how few of the bands which played there ever came to Edinburgh. So I ended up digging a little deeper, and now look at what’s happened.
There were actually posts on this site dating well back into 2006, but I lost them during an IT disaster. For the oldest stuff available you can have a peek here if you like. First ever review written back in Autumn 2004 or so.
http://matthewjamesyoung.com/tunes.html
Oh, and Dylan, your cross-pollination suggestion may come to fruition sooner than you think. The They Shoot Music, Don’t They team are coming from Vienna to stay with us in February and lining up a few sessions at the same time. Sort of a They Shoot Toads, Don’t They (The Bastards) kind of thing. Should be excellent fun.
just listened to the radio cafe thing. i think i now hate music.
I cant listen to it at work
What happens in the radio cafe thing?
Who’s that daft Weedgie fuckwit bint laughing when Olaf mentioned Edinburgh music, then banging on about the ‘great’ Glasgow acts “Franz Ferdinand, Glasvegas, Mogwai…”
They’re all shite you fucking arse-clown!
Franz Ferdinand were a one-trick-pony who went mainstream and embraced Mondeo-man, Glasvegas have never been more than a novelty band, and you have to be fucking deaf or mental to go anywhere near Mogwai.
Good old Olaf: “That’s the usual Weegie pish – grow up. Come through and I’ll show you.” Brilliant!
What a clueless imbecile that hee-hawing weegie cunt was. Describing Jay-Z as a great talent finder and working with Mark Ronson as anything other than taking a big shit on your music pretty much shows what sort of celeb-whoring nonsense she’s into. Dear lord.
I loved Mastodon pronounced as ‘mar-stodden’ too – well done! At least, I assume that’s who she was referring to.
I don’t know who she was but she didn’t seem to know anything about anything. The other guy Olaf wasn’t as bad and seemed to have a bit of a clue but she sounded like she just read a couple of issues of the NME recently.
Olaf is an all-out hero, and has exquisite taste in both music and cheese.
Olaf’s an excellent bloke. Like I said, all you need to know about that woman can be neatly summed up in her not wanting to stab Mark Ronson in the face. Anyone who does not want to stab Mark Ronson has something very important wrong with them, because he rapes music in the ass.
No Bart. Not cheese.
No, Bart’s quite correct, the man knows his cheese.
It is not cheese. It is as if that weegie woman’s brain had been removed from her skull and wrapped in plastic.
Except there’s usually more of it.
It sounds like she simply doesn’t know much about anything then? Ah well. I will check it out in its entirety tonight and may repost with some delicious insults. Either that or just not bother altogether. But for starters…..she sounds like a bawbag.
She’s certainly no contest for Olaf, who we have already confirmed is an expert in unarmed combat, witty repostes, grassroots music and Scandinavian dairy products.
And he probably likes Mogwai, like most sensible people.
he wears nice white cotton trousers with loafers sometimes too….
Sensible people perhaps, Euan, but not people with ears. Smiley face.
And why the hell was she namechecking a band as old as that anyway. Could she not think of a really good current band out of Glasgow like, say Sparrow and the Workshop? Even FF were last good almost eight years ago now.
Alright, I’ll stop now.
had a look at that link to the matthew of yore. Out of the many insults that made me chuckle, this had to be the best:
” I actually saw Katie MeluArse on telly the other day saying ‘I’m don’t thing I’m a star, but I think my music is.’ Not a star, Katie, what you are is a cunt! ”
No truer word was ever written.
I quite like the renaming of T.K. Cuntstall as well.
If you honestly listen to CODY, Happy Songs For Happy People or The Hawk Is Howling and think they are shite you don’t deserve ears!
And for the record, Glasgow has loads of good music. I hate the competition between the cities. Fucking load of nonsense.
Seeing Mogwai perform live was one of the worst experiences of my life. Not just in terms of music, but my entire life overall, in general.
And I’ve been to Peterborough!
Well Euan, that was kind of the annoying thing. The fact that she thought she knew enough to sneer, but couldn’t name anything better Mogwai who are bloody ancient, whether or not they happen to be anyone’s cup of tea. She had no idea whether what she was saying made any sense at all, just repeating some lame party line she heard from some twat in the pub one night.
Dylan. I feel sorry for you if you couldn’t be moved by Mogwai live. You might not like their music, I accept that, but to say there were shit live is one of the most stupid things anyone has ever said on this blog. Including everything you’ve ever said. So that’s a lot of a fucking shit load of stupid. Smiley face.
Matthew. I agree. That is shit. Not listened to the show, nor do I want to really, but if all she can come up with for Glasgow are those 3 bands she shouldn’t be allowed on any sort of show to talk about music any form of music. ever.
I was moved by Mogwai’s music.
I was moved right up the other end of the room as far away from the stage as I could get!
I think it’s best to concentrate all the bile ever on that woman on the radio. I am yet to listen again to find out her name and hunt her down and throw CD of good music at her but I shall.
the ‘blur are shite’ t-shirts were pretty good though….
T.K Cuntstall. ha.
I like Mogwai still, Dylan. Smiley Face.
I was going to say something regarding the pointlessness of the Glasgow/Edinburgh divide type thing too. So I will. Scottish acts get it ticht enough already without infighting. Colon Close Bracket.
The main thing I dont like about Glasgow is that I have to GO there. I hate having to GO places. I also don’t like being stabbed. It happens there a lot I hear. Colon Open Bracket.
aren’t Mogwai a good current band? i must update my list!
Believe me…I worked in Peterborough and it was horrible. Like Livingston, only much, much worse, and with a worse football team.
Glasvegas can go fuck ‘emselves*, but Mogwai have made some great records. the only problem I have with Mogwai gigs is I can’t hear for days afterwards.
* Yes, I’m still pissed off at them about that mp3 thing from all those months ago.