THEY SHOOT MUSIC GOES SCOTLAND

"February can be pretty shitty", Matthew from Song, by Toad briefed us. It was clear that if we were going to Scotland in February, this would not be for the good weather. We were coming for the good music. Our intention was to catch up with musicians that we wanted to meet for a long time already, to discover new bands that we've never heard before - in short to gain an insight into the lively Scottish (indie-)music scene and to share these manifold impressions with you. In two weeks we got to work with 13 bands in 3 different places (Edinburgh - Glasgow - Anstruther) and last, but not least caught up with 2 music bloggers.

Recent Session(s) in Scotland

• The Second Hand Marching Band What a grand finale for our Scotland filming trip! The Second Hand Marching Band gathers at the Gallery of Modern Art in the city centre of Glasgow to blow our minds. However, it sometimes needs a little hint to discover a local phenomenon like the outstanding 20-piece collective (most of them present at the session), when you are visiting new places. So thanks to Gordon McIntyre from Ballboy we found out about the “ensemble madness” (as writ... more ... May 24th, 2010 - (0 Comments)

• Luigi Strauss It’s February 16th, open mic night at The Liquid Ship pub in Glasgow’s Great Western Road. We happen to end up there accidentally after a busy day and listen to various hobby musicians – from middle-aged folk singers to bored-looking girls – while sipping our beers. The third slot on this night’s bill is the one of Lewis Morrison aka Luigi Strauss, a 21-year old Glaswegian student who hasn’t released any rec... more ... May 21st, 2010 - (3 Comments)

• There Will Be Fireworks “On this night, with the concrete cracking from the bitter cold, my face grows old”, sing Gibran and Nicholas in “This Feels Like…”. And in the second song played, “Ash Wednesday”, Nicholas goes on with this poignant tone in the biting cold: “Cold from December still lingers in March, all of the people that stay in these houses are falling apart.” It is not yet March, but February when we catch up with the local band There Will Be Fireworks fo... more ... May 16th, 2010 - (3 Comments)

• Beerjacket „Peter Kelly is a high school English teacher in Hamilton, who is well liked by pupils and staff alike“, says wikipedia about the man behind Beerjacket, often compared with Elliott Smith. Sure, this might not be a neutral, encyclopedia-style remark, but from the half hour we spent with him in Glasgow we can definitely confirm his utter likeableness. After a hint from Jason @ The Pop Cop we meet with Peter to do a session at the Glasgow Film Th... more ... May 9th, 2010 - (1 Comments)

• White Rabbits “Hi. You’re looking for White Rabbits? Let’s see, if we can find them,” said the tall blond guy and walked us through the Glasgow venue King Tut’s, where the Brooklyn-based White Rabbits were going to perform that night. In search of the upcoming 6-piece band we lost track of the headlining band, who were no longer youngsters, but classics: Spoon So the friendly guy showing us around was actually Britt Daniel himself, what we only get to compr... more ... May 3rd, 2010 - (2 Comments)

• Casiokids While Hot Chip might have slept first-class, their UK-tour support Casiokids is travelling and lodging a little more modest. We meet them the morning after their opening for Hot Chip at Glasgow’s O2 Academy at their hotel next to a very busy flyover. It is somewhat noisy, so the five Norwegians grab their instruments and flee from the heavily trafficked area to the waterfront. At the landmark Squiggly bridge the Bergen-based band performs “Gro... more ... April 26th, 2010 - (6 Comments)

• The Fence Collective This session includes King Creosote, James Yorkston and The Pictish Trail and the songs “Leslie”, “Spanish Ants”, “Not To Be”, “Curtain Craft”, “I Awoke” and “Skerryvore”, recorded on a long and relaxed afternoon in Anstruther. Once the Fence Records musicians have made themselves cosy with some beer up to the fireplace, the chance to convince them to also perform songs outside in this picturesque fishing village fainted with every note and ... more ... April 21st, 2010 - (2 Comments)

• Ballboy Before we would leave Edinburgh, we still get the chance to jaunt at the edge of the city, where it borders the sea. Ballboy-singer Gordon McIntyre lives out here in a church in the northern district Leith. Living in a church is not so extraordinary here than it might be for us Austrians and for other people outside Scotland. There are simply so many of them on the isle and far not all are used for clerical purposes anymore. However, instead o... more ... April 14th, 2010 - (1 Comments)

• Meursault Since we were staying with Matthew from Song, by Toad in Edinburgh, we could hardly miss Neil Pennycook from Meursault. Neil and Matthew often hang out together and once we also stumbled into Neil’s mixing of the new Meursault-album that happened in Matthew’s studio and living room. The little pretaste of the second album “All creatures will make merry” that we got to hear was already overwhelming, so we are happy that Neil decided to perform ... more ... April 9th, 2010 - (0 Comments)

• Jesus H Foxx Just a stone’s throw away from Dan aka Withered Hand’s place lives Jesus H. Foxx’s singer Michael with his girlfriend. When we come over to their flat from Withered Hand, we first get seated in the kitchen for some more black tea till the other six band members Neil D., Neil I. Rich, Richie, Steve and Tallah arrive in dribs and drabs. They gather in the living room for improvising on some songs before they decide to perform “Return A Body” an... more ... April 4th, 2010 - (1 Comments)

• Withered Hand «Welcome to the Willson Home» is written on the front door of the flat, where Withered Hand’s Dan Willson lives with his wife, his two kids and the kitty. It is a stone-grey dwelling house in the West of the city, not a classy part of town, but one with the certain charm of what you might call the “other” side of Edinburgh. After a cup of black tea we follow Dan up on a shaky ladder to the windy roof. With a view on the brewery, the rugby stad... more ... March 29th, 2010 - (2 Comments)

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